Rising Shadows
by Yan Niao
Summary: When the magical world is threatened by a sinister new force twenty-five years after the defeat of the Dark Lord, the only hope may lie with two boys from Japan with knowledge of this ancient magic... and in just how quickly they can learn the new.
1. Prologue

Hey all, Yan Niao here! This is an idea that has been floating around in my head for years, but has only just recently given me form. I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I'm pretty excited to finally be writing it.

I don't think I'd be able to write a formal duel without its winding up Epic Fail, so while I _will_ use the monsters, they'll probably just appear outside a duel situation. I don't know the strategies and rules well enough to write one out. Also, I just watched the final season, and while I'll be taking elements from it, I'm going to have to alter timelines just a little bit to fit in with some things, though they really will not be major changes. This fic will not take place in any particular time in the series, though if I had to pick a place, it would be after Battle City. Ryou would have the Ring and the Eye, and Yuugi would have the Tauk and Rod as well as the Puzzle, then.

Please, any hardcore fans out there, don't be too picky, because I know I'm fudging, but also please be on the lookout for anything horribly off. That said, would anyone with good knowledge of YGO (and good writing skills, I'll have to check you out! ;) ) like to beta this story? :D (puppy dog eyes)

All right, enough talking from me. Please enjoy the story! :)

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

It was a day no cooler than any other in the summer, sweltering hot though thankfully not as humid as it had been. Abandoned swings swung briefly, buffeted by the gentle breeze that swept through the grass, fifty yards behind the children that had jumped off their perches and landed such a distance away. Shouts of both glee and disappointment carried through the air as one child proclaimed victory over his friends.

"See, see? I _can_ jump furthest; I'm definitely more powerful than you!"

A redheaded girl crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the boy, though he stood at least a head taller than she. "That's no fair, James," she complained. "You're the oldest. You're _supposed_ to be able to do it better."

The boy named James looked around secretively and lowered his voice, glancing at the boy who had fallen behind the rest. "Yeah, but Daddy's little favorite didn't get very far, did he? And he's older than you—"

"Don't call—" the redhead began hotly, but she was interrupted by a sandy-haired boy who was dragging along a girl who looked much like him, except her hair was auburn. His face was shining in excitement.

"Did you see?" he exclaimed. "I got further than usual! Rose still beat me, but I was only a foot behind!" He turned to yell at the forlorn black-haired boy behind him. "Al, come over here! How far did you get?"

The boy called Al neglected to answer as he dragged an arm over his brow and trudged over to the gaggle of young children, dragging the toes of his trainers on the ground as he walked. He was much skinnier than his brother James, and his hair was darker, his eyes a vivid green rather than the hazel of James and their sister Lily. James was the oldest at ten; Al and Rose a year younger, and Lily and Hugo the youngest by one year. Al's face was set in an expression of surrender and shame, while James looked simply jubilant.

Rose gave Al a hug. "It's okay, Al, Daddy says magic doesn't always start out as powerful for everyone. For him it started really late, and he still turned out pretty powerful!" She ignored the snigger released by the dark-haired James as Hugo stepped on his foot.

"Yeah, but that was _your_ dad," James said rudely, elbowing Hugo in response, causing him to stumble back into his sister. Hugo scowled.

"Shut up, James, you're being a jerk!" Lily said shrilly. "Al's had lots of times when he's shown magic, just because he can't _jump_ far doesn't mean anything!"

"Let it drop, Lily," Al mumbled, still staring at his feet as he drew circles in the dirt with his toes. He was used to James' teasing. James has been fond of the activity for as long as both boys could remember, it was old news to the green-eyed boy. Their sister didn't accept the verdict, though, still glaring at the older boy with her arms crossed over her tiny frame.

"'Let it drop, Lily,'" James mocked, stepping forwards. "You're always a goody-two-shoes, Al."

"I am _not_ a goody-two-shoes!" Al said hotly, though his eyes were still glued to the ground.

"Right," James said, "then why am _I _always the one blamed for anything? You get away with_ everything_, Al, because Daddy won't hear a _word_ against you just because of your stupid eyes—" Al blanched and scowled, his hands curling up into fists at his side. He was proud of his eyes. They were unique, shared only by his father, who said he'd gotten them from his mother, after whom Lily had been named. Al felt happy to remind his dad of the first Lily, because he knew that he would be devastated if his own mother died.

"Maybe it's because you're the one who—" Rose began primly, but James was on a rant, now letting everything out.

"Your eyes aren't even that special—"

"They _are_ special, and you know it!" Al bit back, now following his brother's example in taking a step forwards. "Just because—just because _your_ eyes are just a stupid boring color—"

"Why are we fighting about _eyes?_" Rose exclaimed shrilly, but the boys ignored her.

"And what kind of a name is _Albus Severus,_ anyway? You don't even introduce yourself by your full name because it's that stupid—"

"It is _not_," Al retorted, eyes beginning to get a bit watery. "It is _not_ stupid—"

Suddenly, Lily let out a gasp and took a step back, her green-hazel eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Hugo turned to stare in the direction in which she was pointing, whipping his head around so quickly he developed a crick. Rose let out a squeak and drew closer to her brother. Behind Al, tiny wisps of purplish smoke were appearing in the air, growing darker and thicker by the moment. Every instinct the children had screamed for them to stay away; the smoke radiated danger and chills, but Al and James, so caught up in their argument, did not seem to notice.

"Even your name isn't as stupid as _you_ are—you're probably just a Squib!" James proclaimed, nearly crowing with his latest insult. That got the rise he was looking for as Al's face twisted in anger and he bit his lip hard, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over his emerald-colored eyes.

"I am _not_," he said fiercely, "I am _not_ a _Squib!_"

And suddenly the smoke burst from tiny wisps to a cloud. Rose shrieked and tripped over her own feet as Lily and Hugo dragged her backwards, and James finally noticed, his jaw dropping open in shock. James was frozen, unable to move as he stared at the evil-looking stuff gathering behind his brother. A tendril touched Al on the shoulder, and suddenly a chill ran down his spine, his lips turning blue. The smoke continued to gather, growing thicker and darker as the sky seemed to lose all light. "Al… what are you doing?" James asked in a voice an octave too high.

"Nothing!" Al shrilled in an equal pitch. The wisps had turned into a thick cloud, reaching out towards the other four children as it drew itself around the green-eyed boy like a cloak. Terror was written on ever line of the other children's faces.

"Stop it, Al!" Rose demanded, sounding as though she was on the verge of tears. The aura from the cloud was something the children had never experienced before. Al dropped to his knees and dug his hands in the dirt, tears now streaming down his cheeks. The purple smoke had almost completely engulfed his legs and lower torso, and was working quickly on his upper half.

"I'm not doing anything!" Al screamed. "It hurts—someone get it off me, it hurts, it hurts, get it off!"

"Al!" Lily cried desperately, reaching for her brother, but it was too late; he was going to be eaten by the mist—

"_Expecto Patronum!"_

There was a flash of white light, and the smoke withdrew as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving Al shivering and sobbing in a ball on the ground. The other four hid their faces in each others' shoulders as they were suddenly awash in warmth before looking up to see a silver stag lifting its antlers to the sky, which then vanished back into the wand of a man with untidy black hair, glasses, and a lightning-shaped scar.

"Dad!" James and Lily cried in relief as Rose and Hugo let out a shout of "Uncle Harry!"

The man shoved his wand into the pocket of his cloak before running to kneel down next to the shivering Al as James and Lily ran to cling onto his arms. "Al," he said, fear saturated in his voice, "Albus, can you hear me?"

Al didn't answer, still shaking and sniffling.

"Was that a dementor?" Lily breathed, clutching her father's sleeve tightly in her fists. The children had been warned of a dementor's effects often—of the sudden chills, the unhappy thoughts, as though the happiness had been sucked from the world. That was certainly how she'd felt before Harry's Patronus had banished the strange purple smoke.

"No," Harry said grimly, "though that is a very good guess, Lily. I have no idea what that was." He placed a hand gently on his son's back; when Al still didn't respond, he picked up the boy and stood, holding him like he had before Al had started 'getting too big for that stuff.' "Are all of you all right?"

"We're fine," Hugo said breathlessly, though he was still a bit shaky.

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

"Al did it," James said quickly, looking up at his father with wide, brown-hazel eyes. "It just started appearing behind him."

At this Albus spoke for the first time, his voice muffled by his father's shoulder as he remained unmoving. "I didn't do _anything_."

"James was teasing him," Lily supplied, trying to be helpful as Harry turned to look at James, brows furrowed. "Al was getting really upset when that purple stuff appeared…"

"It hurt, Dad," Al whimpered. "It was so cold and it hurt…"

"It's gone now, Al," Harry said gently, still giving his elder son a hard look. "Come on, we'll head back to the house. Your mum and dad were beginning to wonder where you were," he said to Rose and Hugo, "and James, I thought we'd made it very clear you were not to tease _anyone_. When we figure out what happened, you will be in very big trouble, young man."

James scowled, too ashamed to raise his eyes from the dirt. _Figures._

Ginevra Potter curled her hands around her hot mug of tea, inhaling the smell of herbs as she locked her feet around the legs of her chair at the table, watching her husband pace the kitchen. Harry was quite obviously agitated, running his hands through his jet-black hair so that it stuck up even more than usual, giving an effect that would have been quite comical had not the situation been so worrisome. After a couple turns around the room, Harry gave a frustrated sigh and dropped into a chair across from Ginny, leaning forwards so his forehead touched the cool wood surface.

"I just can't figure it out."

Ginny reached out to take Harry's hands, the transferred warmth from her tea a jarring contrast to the cold of Harry's palms. "…Is Al all right?" she asked quietly.

Harry looked up and squeezed his wife's hands lightly. "Yes, he's fine now," he assured her. "He's in bed; he went right to sleep. I think he was pretty shaken. Had a bad shock."

"And you're sure it wasn't a dementor? The effects—"

"No, Ginny, I'm _sure_," Harry said sharply, earning himself a glare. "No dementor summons _purple mist_ like that… I just used the Patronus on instinct and was lucky it worked. It doesn't make any _sense._"

"I know," Ginny said with a sigh. "I just wanted to make sure. And there's never been any account of this stuff happening before?"

Harry shook his head. "Right when I brought the kids home, I sent an owl to the Department while you were trying to get Al to snap out of it. They replied just after I got him in bed." Harry dug for a moment in the pockets of his cloak before pulling out a crumpled piece of parchment, holding it up as he rested his elbow on the table surface. "Absolutely nothing. Kingsley thinks he might remember something like it from _years_ ago in records of dealings with foreign countries, so certainly nothing in this part of the world if anything at all. I'll organize a small team to look into it tomorrow, but we're still dealing with the underground Dark artifact trade, and that's higher on the priority list. We may never find out what it was."

Ginny bit her lip and scooted her chair back from the table, causing the wooden legs to screech their protest against the linoleum floor. "Why doesn't this take precedence?"

Harry followed her example and stood, sighing. Walking over to his wife, who stood up as well, he placed his arms on her shoulders and laced his hands together behind her head. "Because this is one instance, and the Dark artifact trade is rampant right now," he said gently. "You know how it works, Ginny." Lightly Harry kissed her forehead. "I'll do what I can."

* * *

"Mum—Dad—look, _look!_"

A black-haired boy wearing nothing on his feet but a pair of white socks skittered down the hardwood floor of the second level, bedroom doors lining him on either white wall. A grin was plastered across his face as he flailed for balance in his hurry; it was a wonder he could see anything at all, for his hair was completely out of control, falling into his face and nearly covering his eyes. But he seemed to function fine despite an almost-trip at the top of the stairs, prevented by grabbing onto the banister and sliding the way down.

"_Albus Severus, what have I told you about sliding down the banister?"_

He ignored the reprimand, landing on his feet gleefully to run towards the red-haired woman and the man with whom he bore a striking resemblance, down the hair and emerald-colored eyes, who stood just inside the kitchen. He almost landed flat as he hit the linoleum in his socked feet, but caught himself on the doorframe, eyes shining with excitement.

"Geez, Al, having an orgasm over your latest book list?"

A second boy with slightly lighter-colored hair and hazel eyes but a very similar face structure slapped the black-haired boy lightly on the back of the head as he came around a corner, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, obviously trying to show off the six-pack abs he sported. Al ignored his brother, holding out a hand to his parents. "Look," he repeated, voice gleeful.

Obligingly, Ginny moved forwards, taking the proffered item from her son's hand. Harry leaned in to look. Both parents' faces broke out in a grin at the sight of a gold letter "P" adorning a small red lion-shaped pin. "Congratulations, Al," Harry said, green eyes meeting green.

James leaned over to see what the fuss was about, scoffing in disbelief at the sight as he snatched the pin from his younger brother's hand. "Unreal," he said, holding it close to his eyes in order to better examine it. "Al gets into as much mischief as I do. There's no way they'd make him a prefect."

Suddenly Ginny laughed, throwing her red hair back. "Yes, but James," she said, "the difference is that Al is smart enough not to get himself _caught_."

James scowled as Al reached out to take back his prefect's badge. Al shoved his brother playfully in the shoulder. "Come on, Jamesy," he said. "This just heightens our chances of getting away with stuff."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You know you're not supposed to abuse your privileges, Albus. Someone will find out. Someone always does—"

"Yeah, I know," Al said quickly, ducking away from a hair-ruffle by his brother.

"Congrats, little bro," James said. "I'll hold you to that promise." A devious grin crossed his face.

For the first time, Al suddenly seemed to notice his parents' attire. "Where are you going?" he asked, confused as he examined the Muggle clothing Harry and Ginny were wearing: slacks and a collared shirt for Harry and a slinky blue dress for Ginny. "What's with the getup?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget?" he said. "The Auror Department's holding a welcome dinner for the newest taps. It's a formal, so we're all supposed to bring a date." He grinned and gave Ginny a light kiss on the lips.

"Of course, training begins right away, so it's out in Muggle London so those who aren't Muggle-born can start getting acquainted with Muggle surroundings," Ginny said with a sigh. "Meaning we've got to wear Muggle clothes."

"I like you in Muggle clothes," Harry said, ignoring James, who was fake-gagging.

"You know where Lily is, right?" Ginny said, turning to her sons. Al and James nodded.

"Yeah, she's upstairs writing swooning letters in her diary to some dark mysterious stranger—"

"All right, all right, just no fighting," Harry interrupted, checking his watch. "Come on, Ginny, we'll be late." With that, the two hurried towards the front door and exited, closing the door behind them as they Disapparated in a pop.

* * *

Note to self, Harry thought as he watched his wife down her fourth glass of wine, never give a redhead alcohol. They simply can't digest it.

Ginny giggled, her cheeks flushed a bright pink that clashed with the fire-orange of her hair, leaning across the table to the Auror seated across from Harry. "Oh, you're such a _tease_, Edison," she said, waving a hand.

"Really, I'm such a fan," the younger sandy-haired Auror said eagerly. "I love Quidditch, and your team is one of the best—"

Harry scowled, looking down the table at another intoxicated redhead: one of Ginny's brother and his best friend, Ron Weasley, accompanied by his brown-haired wife, Hermione, who was chatting animatedly with one of the newly-tapped Aurors. Harry caught Hermione's eye and grinned; she pulled an exasperated face at him before returning to her conversation. Harry turned his attention back to his wife, a little uncomfortable with her apparent flirting with another man, wine or no wine. Ginny had now begun pressing him for stories of dangerous escapades (as though she didn't hear enough of them from the head of the department, her own _husband _and the father of her _children_, Harry thought with gritted teeth). The Auror called Edison was eagerly recounting a trip to Egypt; Harry listened in stony silence.

"…and we just barely managed to escape from the mummy with a well-placed Patronus and a Binding curse from Jenkins," Edison continued dramatically.

The woman sitting next to him elbowed him in the chest. "You forgot about the evil cloud of doom," she recounted dryly, "that tried to swallow our souls."

"Oh, that too," Edison admitted, screwing up his face in concentration. "I can't exactly remember that part, though—it's all a bit blurry. I just remember this purple smoke suddenly spouting from the mummy, and it felt exactly like the effects of a dementor—_that_ was why we used the Patronus, _right_…"

Harry's hand slipped and he dropped his fork, which then clattered on his plate to the ground below. Harry ignored it, staring at the sandy-haired Auror. "What did you say?"

"This was before you were Head… one of my first missions," the woman said to Harry. "It was a failed mission. We'd heard of ancient Dark artifacts hidden in the tombs of Egypt, and the North African Minister of Magic wanted our help with the expedition in getting these items, as they were supposed to hold immeasurable power. Of course, after all the crap we went through involving soul-sucking mummies, the locals in charge of the area tell us that the artifacts were just a legend." She rolled her eyes. "Figures."

"No, what was the part about the purple smoke?" Harry pressed, heart suddenly pounding against his ribs. For the seven years since his children had been nearly engulfed by the sinister-looking stuff, he had found no leads on the event, not even knowing where to start. And suddenly to know someone had known all along…

"I already said," Edison said, frowning. "We broke into a tomb and activated a curse. Luckily it was the first one, so we were near the entrance, though that shows how little prepared we were. A mummy—well, a sarcophagus, really, it's just easier to say mummy—was suddenly animated and went after us, spewing purple and black mist that gathered in a heavy cloud. We lost one member of the team to the stuff, found him later immobile and shaking, never to return to his right state of mind." He shook his head sadly. "We would have all been goners had Jenkins not realized how much it felt like a dementor attack and used his Patronus in a panic fit. It sent the sarcophagus packing."

Harry turned to stare at Ginny, whose gaze was suddenly clear. Their eyes locked for an instant; Ginny nodded, and Harry backed his chair out from the table and stood. "Excuse me," he said, and swept from the room.

* * *

The expedition could not have been that long ago; Edison had been tapped only a year or two after Harry, so it was definitely within Harry's years in the Auror Department. Harry dug through the files in his office feverishly until he finally found a small folder marked _'Egypt.'_

The very front page was a report detailing the reasons for going, as accounted by the woman who'd been on the trip with Edison, and that it had been a pointless mission. The next few were individual letters sent by owl to detail more specific events, and a couple pictures of the Auror group sent waving in front of typical Egyptian tour sites. The very last page carried sketches of seven small figurines decorated with the Eye of Horus, accompanied by the title 'The Millennium Items: Pendant, Ring, Eye, Key, Scale, Rod, and Tauk.' Below that someone had written in fading ink, 'Said to each contain a power capable of controlling the world and the dark forces of the Shadows,' and below that, in capital letters: 'LEGEND.' However, the last word had been crossed out and added instead was 'some items last traced to Japan.'

Harry tossed aside the file, his hands trembling as he returned to the records. This time he moved away from missions and rather to correspondence with international Auror Departments. Japan's was a thick file, but after twenty minutes of thumbing, Harry found what he was looking for: a note on Shadows.

Most of what was written contained nonsense of a Muggle game gaining popularity in Japan, but there was a note on small group of people who seemed to be connected with the Shadows, which had been growing more of a common sight in Japan. Harry looked over the tiny list, taking note of their names and ages, before feverishly pulling out a roll of parchment and a quill from his desk.

These so-called Shadows were obviously connected to the Millennium Items, whatever they were. And these Millennium Items and Shadows both seemed to be harnessing a dangerous power—and as Harry saw it, it wouldn't be long before someone tried to take advantage of that power and start a second reign of terror.

As The Boy Who Lived, Harry couldn't allow that.

* * *

"What are you saying, Harry?"

Harry scowled as he crossed his arms across his chest, staring his old classmate and ex-girlfriend, Cho Chang, in the eye. He was standing in a room he knew only too well, a circular room full of whirring contraptions and slumbering portraits. A room once occupied by the man after whom his second son was named, and whose job Cho now held. Cho stood across from him, looking just as uncomfortable with the situation as Harry felt.

"I contacted the Imperial School of Magic in Japan," Harry said quietly. "They refused to take on these two boys, claiming they did not have an ounce of magic nor a power they deemed threatening. I was able to get a hold of one of the adults, however, who assured me that there was plenty more magic to the situation than what meets the eye, though he would not tell me more than that. These two boys are still in their teens and could be targeted and harmed if they are not given proper training and protection."

"So you want me to defy the school of the boys' own country?"

Harry said nothing. Cho sighed, rubbing her eyes wearily. "Harry, this isn't another of your paranoia attacks, is it? It sounds to me like a myth fueled by some Muggle technology—"

"I assure you, the man with whom I spoke knew of the existence of our world only too well, but was even more acquainted with this other magic," Harry said hotly, annoyed. "He said it's ancient, nothing we'd have ever experienced before, which only makes it a bigger threat—"

"So what do you want me to do, Harry?" Cho demanded. "If it's not _our_ kind of magic, then we can hardly expect them to travel across continents to a school where they can't even perform up to _first-year_ level…"

"We can learn from them," Harry insisted, "and they from us. If they can wield any kind of magic at all I'm sure they can wield ours with the use of a wand."

There was a pause, and Cho gave one short nod. "All right, but," she said, holding up her hand, "you will take full responsibility to make sure they are trained and to find out about this legend what you can, on your own if you must."

"No problem at all."

"That means staying _here_ to teach them, Harry."

There was a short pause. Harry raised one black eyebrow. "You want _me_ to _teach_?"

A faint smile appeared on Cho's lips. "You've done it before, and you were brilliant as a fifteen-year-old, so why not now?"

Harry sighed. "All right. I'll do it."

Cho nodded her thanks. "Now… what are their names?"

Green eyes met black for an extended pause before Harry finally answered. "…Yuugi Mutou and Ryou Bakura."


	2. Arrivals

And so we move onto chapter two, finally introducing the characters you've all been waiting for—Yuugi and Ryou

So I was asked what time it was in the Yugioh plotline... I actually answered this question at the beginning of the last chapter—I really don't have a specific timeline in mind, but I think I'll have to say after Battle City. I have not seen the "Doma Orichalcos/Grand Championship" arcs, so I really don't know what happens there (I skipped from "Battle City/Duel Tower" to "Dawn of the Duel." I know, I know, I'm bad). I think it would be best if I didn't try to set the YGO timeline after a story arc I _haven't_ seen, so hopefully that will be all right with you. :) Again, this would give Yuugi the Sen'nen Tauk, Rod, and Puzzle, and Ryou would have the Eye and the Ring.

This chapter's going to be a little slow; I didn't want to jump right to Hogwarts without first introducing Yuugi and Bakura in England, but there really wasn't a whole lot to do here. So hang in there, and we'll be at Hogwarts in the next chapter! ;)

* * *

**Chapter One**

**Arrivals**

* * *

It was sweltering hot in the London International Airport as travelers hurried their way from flight to flight, pushing their ways through the crowded terminals. The air conditioning, usually turned on to full blast so people were required to wear coats and sweatshirts inside even in the dead of summer, had been turned down in an attempt to save energy, but the system had begun to malfunction after being altered for the first time in years. Attendants manning the counters in front of the gates looked harried, red-faced and frazzled as they shrugged out of their official-looking coats and waved away sweaty passengers, assuring them they were doing their best to resolve the problem. Others fanned themselves with their plane tickets as they walked, intent on getting to their destinations; but some were distracted as they stared at and gave a wide berth to a short, Asian teenage male watching the planes land from the huge window stretching across the walls.

It wasn't his height that made this young boy stick out from the crowd like a sore thumb, but rather the rest of his appearance that would appear strange on any person of any age, regardless of height or nationality. The first thing plane-goers noticed was the hair on his head that defied any law of gravity, sticking up ridiculously long in multicolored spikes. The red-tipped black of his spiky hair was streaked with a juxtaposed yellow, a lock of which fell down in his face over his bright lilac eyes. So his features not only defied gravity, but genetics as well.

Hair and eyes notwithstanding, he'd dressed himself in rather curious attire, one that made others wonder what kind of life such an innocent-looking boy led to get himself involved with bondage. All black was not a color choice popular that summer, thanks to the heat, especially not in the form of tight skinny jeans and a form-fitting tank top. As he raised a hand to place his fingertips lightly against the scalding glass, gold bracelets clinked on his wrist. Black bands adorned his upper arms, but the real kicker lay on his neck, where rested a thick black leather collar and a silver chain, from which hung a solid gold pyramid pendant decorated with the Eye of Horus.

Oh, yes. Yuugi Mutou had come to the West.

Quite inconveniently, Yuugi Mutou had absolutely no idea where he was supposed to go, and his English was a little more than sketchy at best. He'd been watching the planes come and go for about fifteen minutes since he'd landed and picked up his luggage; he'd been told that someone would come to meet him, yet he didn't know just for whom he was looking. He'd asked someone once if there was a place where people waited to meet people after their flight had landed, speaking first in Japanese and then struggling to repeat the question in English. The man had blinked at the sight of the odd-looking sixteen-year-old boy before shaking his head and walking away, muttering "Punks these days" under his breath as he did.

Yuugi's hands curled around the warm metal of the golden pyramid pendant, sighing. He was beginning to think that the letter and plane ticket he'd received in the beak of a snowy white owl that had arrived at his bedroom window the week before had been a hoax, though he couldn't understand why someone would take the time to form such a strange-sounding scheme and send him to London. New magic, spell-books, wands, wizards… Being who he was, Yuugi hadn't found the idea difficult to swallow, but now he was beginning to get a nagging worry in the back of his mind in the shape of a 5,000-year-old pharaoh he knew as Yami.

"There's nothing we can do now but wait, anyway," Yuugi murmured as the spirit shifted restlessly inside his soul room. "I'm sure someone's coming."

Out of the sixteen-year-old boy floated the transparent form of someone who looked almost identical to Yuugi, except that he looked to be about two years older, six inches taller, and less innocently clueless. No one reacted to this split, however; no one seemed to be able to see the spirit besides his host. _"Did you ever wonder, aibou," _the spirit said in a voice about an octave deeper than Yuugi's, _"how you're going to go to school in England if you can barely speak English?" _His voice was stern, but his ruby eyes were dancing with amusement.

"Come on, Yami, it's a school of magic." Yuugi grinned. "They'll figure something out for me."

"_If that's what it truly is…"_ Yami mused, suddenly frowning. Yuugi shook his head and didn't bother responding. It had only been fifteen minutes; their plane could have been early, or traffic could be bad. Who was he to judge other people? This was a big airport, after all.

Suddenly Yami jerked sideways, twisting his head swiftly to peer over his host's shoulder. Yuugi let his fingers fall from the window and examined the spirit's expression. It was one he knew only too well, a face of concentration, indicating that the spirit was tense and ready to react at the slightest provocation. Before Yuugi could open his mouth to ask what was wrong, Yami relaxed and vanished, and Yuugi heard someone calling his name.

Apparently it was a bad day for Japanese fashion sense reputation, because the boy running towards Yuugi had snow-white hair that fell down to his shoulder-blades. This, however, was the only attention-seeking thing about him (except for his blue eyes, which were a bit of an odd sight on an Asian face), as he was dressed in perfectly normal clothes that sought to fade into the background with blue jeans and a green-and-white striped polo shirt. A wide grin split across Yuugi's face as he waved. "Bakura!"

Ryou Bakura, like Yuugi, was carrying only a small black suitcase, and he set it down as he approached the much shorter boy. Though they were the same age, Yuugi, because of his height and softened features, gave off an impression of being much younger than the white-haired boy. Puzzement was written over Ryou's face, though he looked no less pleased to his friend.

"I heard you'd come back to England to live with your father," Yuugi said before Ryou could speak. "And you left without telling anyone?"

Ryou shook his head. "No, no, I'm not going to live with my father, but I will be going to school here again. I'll go back to Domino over breaks." His brow creased. "Apparently, it was an urgent matter. But Yuugi, what are _you_ doing here? Alone, no less?"

"The same reason as you," Yuugi said, raising his eyebrows. "I got a letter from a school that said they knew about me and wanted to help refine my magic, not that I really have any! And theirs is supposedly really different from all the ancient Egyptian stuff we're used to, as well. I figured I might as well at least check it out, though I really don't know what to expect. The others really wanted to come, too, but the letter said that I was the only one who could come." He smiled. "Jounouchi nearly followed me onto the plane. Honda's threatening to write and demand to come, too, but Anzu assured them nothing in our friendship would change even though I'll be gone."

"Hm." Ryou tentatively returned the smile. "Well… anou, the same for me as well. For the school, I mean."

Yuugi's jaw dropped. "No way! You were invited to the magic school as well, Bakura?"

"If you got a letter from a place called Hogwarts, then yes." Ryou couldn't help but laugh. Yuugi was always so energetic, even to the point of being over-the-top. He went well with the spirit that shared his body; both hikari and yami were prone to exaggerated emotions. It was the complete opposite of Ryou's relationship with the dark spirit that inhabited _his_ body; unlike Yuugi, Ryou and his yami were complete opposites. Ryou was shy and polite; Yami Bakura was crass and violent. They did not communicate, and Ryou had no control over when his yami took over and would return to his body without any memory of his yami's doings.

"Well, I'm relieved," Yuugi admitted, sighing. "I was a bit afraid of starting a new school on my own."

Ryou was accustomed to changing schools, but he had a new worry that he did not have when he'd started at Domino High. "It's nice to know that you'll be there, too, Yuugi," Ryou said warmly. "It would have been scary not having anyone to talk to about certain… complications." He placed a hand on his chest, feeling the smooth contours of the Sen'nen Ring underneath the fabric of his shirt. "Especially if things get out of hand. I doubt anyone at this school would know how to control the Shadows if…"

He didn't finish his sentence. Yuugi shook his head violently and smiled at Ryou. "Don't worry, Bakura," he assured him. "It will all be perfectly fine. You'll see, we'll have nothing to worry about!"

Though Ryou smiled back, he did not respond.

"Excuse me," said an English-speaking voice.

Yuugi and Ryou turned to look up at a middle-aged black-haired man who was looking at them curiously from behind round-rimmed glasses. Though his hair was a bit of a mess, it was completely normal and bland next to Yuugi's and Ryou's. He placed his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants and said in a slightly unsure-sounding voice, "Are you the students I'm supposed to be meeting?"

Yuugi glanced over helplessly at Ryou, who responded in flawless British English. "Yes, we're Ryou Bakura and Yuugi Mutou, if that's what you mean," he told the man, who developed a strange look of mixed relief and apprehension. Ryou didn't need the Sen'nen Eye to know that he was wondering just what Yuugi was wearing, and why both teenagers had dyed their hair such strange colors. No one ever believed it was natural, no matter how often the two argued that it was.

"Oh, good, then," the man said, holding out a hand. "My name is Harry Potter; I'll be showing you around to get you familiar with things before the term starts. I'll also be one of your professors." Ryou shook the offered hand, and Yuugi understood enough to follow Ryou's example, though he was still accustomed to bowing rather than the Western greeting. "Er, which of you is Ryou and which is Yuugi?"

"I'm Ryou, but everyone calls me Bakura," Ryou answered. He looked over at the very clueless Yuugi. "You'll have to forgive Yuugi, sir. He doesn't speak much English…"

"Oh, that's not a problem," Harry said, raising his eyebrows. "It's required for all Aurors to know how to perform a Language Charm in case a target refuses to speak in English." Ryou had no idea what an Auror was, but he kept his face arranged into a politely neutral expression nevertheless. "We'll have to go somewhere more private, though. We're not allowed to use magic in front of Muggles."

To Ryou, the term sounded like the name of a Duel Monster, but looking around, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, not to mention Harry's statement wouldn't make much sense even if he had been talking about been a Monster. Correctly interpreting Ryou's expression, Harry explained, "A Muggle is a person who can't use magic. Come on, then; where we're going isn't far from here." He motioned to Ryou and Yuugi to follow him before turning on his heel and leading them towards the exit.

As they walked, Ryou explained in Japanese to Yuugi what was happening. Yuugi grinned knowingly at hearing that Harry had a spell that would help him understand English. _See, Yami? I told you this magic thing would come in handy._

He could feel the spirit's amusement. _-I never said you were wrong, aibou. It's just nice to know that everything's going as planned for now. I cannot sense any malicious intent from this man. In fact, his soul is quite pure.-_

_Sounds as though everything's going well, then!_

It was not quite so sweltering outside, where the air was fresh and moving, though the sun beat down fiercely on their heads. Yuugi was almost beginning to regret wearing all black, though as dark colors were his trademark, he really didn't have much else to wear. They walked in silence; Yuugi was too busy staring at the distinctly English streets and the people that walked down them to have much time for talking. Yami was enjoying the sights, too. Ryou, however, was used to the scene, although he noticed that Harry's eyes kept flicking back to the pendant resting against Yuugi's chest.

After about ten minutes they drew to a sudden halt before a shabby, nondescript little pub, the words "The Leaky Cauldron" printed in peeling letters over the doorway. They seemed to be the only three people who could see the place; others walked right by, their eyes sliding right past it. Harry looked back at Yuugi and Ryou, worry entering his green eyes. "Can you see this place?" he asked, gesturing towards the pub.

"The Leaky Cauldron?" Ryou said, confused. Why was Harry taking them to a pub? And why wouldn't they be able to see it?

Relief flickered over Harry's face. "Can you ask Yuugi if he sees it?" Ryou did so; Yuugi nodded his assent. "Good," Harry said. "Muggles are unable to see this place. If you hadn't been able to see it… well, that would have been a problem. Right, then, we're going in!"

He opened the door. Yuugi hadn't quite known what he'd been expecting—perhaps a strange new world, with a new landscape and floating objects and magical creatures (hey, he was no stranger to the idea)—but seeing that the inside of the pub was just as nondescript as the outside was a little surprising. Yami chuckled at Yuugi's wide-eyed search of the small, dingy pub. -_What did you think, aibou? That we were about to be sucked into another virtual Duel Monsters world, or that he'd open the door and we'd come face-to-face with Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon?-_

Yuugi blushed, slightly embarrassed. _Well, you have to admit that it could happen._

Yami's good mood only increased. _-That is very true. It makes you wonder if perhaps being sucked into other worlds have just become an everyday thing for us.-_

_That_, Yuugi thought, _would worry me for my sanity._

Yami broke out into full-on laughter. _-Aibou,_- he said warmly, _-you talk to voices in your head, you've been shrunken down to game-piece-size numerous times to be used in Shadow Games, you believe in magic and spells, and it's only traveling to other worlds every other day that makes you worry for your sanity?-_

_Mou, Yami! It's only the one voice—you should know._

_-Aa, of course.- _A wave of affection.

A hunchbacked old man waved to Harry from behind the bar, though his eyes were trained on the gold around Yuugi's neck and arms. Yuugi shifted, uncomfortable with the look in the man's eyes, keeping his own gaze on the ground. "Greetings, Mr. Potter!" the man wheezed. "It's unusual that I see you here without the missus and kids… or a squad…"

Harry shook his head. "Nope, Tom, Hogwarts business." He seemed to swell with pride at those words; Harry could remember only too well a certain half-giant's using the same phrase as Harry stood behind him, scared and afraid, an eleven-year-old who barely knew anything about himself… and now it had come full circle. Tom shot Yuugi and Ryou disbelieving looks, clearly startled by their eccentric appearances. "Do you have a room available…?"

Tom nodded dumbly, keeping his eyes trained on Yuugi and Ryou as fumbled with his hands underneath the bar , finally bringing out a small bronze key that he dropped onto the wooden surface with a clatter. Harry smiled and took the key. "Thanks, Tom," he said, before turning back to Yuugi and Ryou. "Follow me."

He led the two teenagers up a narrow flight of wooden stairs to a long hallway, along which stretched numerous doors adorned with three-digit numbers. Harry turned left and passed only a couple doors before stopping before number 169, unlocking the door to reveal a small in room that held two twin beds, a dresser, coffee table, and two chairs. He shut the door behind them and gestured to Yuugi. "I should make it easy for you to communicate as soon as possible," he said, and Ryou translated. Yuugi watched, curious and a little bit nervous, as Harry dug in his pockets before bringing out a slender, long piece of wood.

"Just hold still," he ordered, and pointed the wand at Yuugi. Yami bristled, coming to the front of Yuugi's mind without taking control of his body, but he didn't have any reason to worry. "_Langua Ostendo,_" Harry muttered, and Yuugi blinked, feeling something cool wash over him.

"Did it work?" he asked eagerly, and Harry smiled, satisfied.

"Yes, I believe it did," Harry said, stowing his wand back away. "I can understand you, at least—does it go both ways?"

"Aa!" Yuugi said with a grin, pleased that he was suddenly able to understand Harry. Harry was still speaking English, and Yuugi was pretty sure he was speaking Japanese, but he simply _understood_ Harry without having to translate anything. It was a strange feeling, but Yuugi would get used to it soon.

"Good, then that makes everything so much simpler," Harry said, dropping down into one of the chairs. Ryou sat gingerly down on one of the beds, and Yuugi took the other chair. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, yes?"

"Er, a little," Ryou admitted. "I mean, I really don't do any magic. And what I've seen of it doesn't involve any wands and words, and stuff like that."

"I didn't think you would have heard of magic like mine," Harry said. "The Imperial Academy of Magic in Japan would have accepted you when you turned eleven, if you had been born with the natural talent for it. However, under whatever circumstances, you've come in contact with magic, and Hogwarts thought it would be best to make sure you got a proper handle on your powers."

Yami was a little offended. _-I think I have a fairly good grasp of my own powers,- _he began, but Yuugi hushed him.

"We also want to learn from you," Harry added after a pause, and Yuugi sat up a little straighter. "Yuugi, do you mind if I ask what that golden pyramid hanging from that chain around your neck is?"

Yuugi's hands closed over the Puzzle. Yami gave Yuugi his approval to tell the truth; Harry, from what he could tell, had no Shadows inside him whatsoever. "This is known as the Sen'nen Puzzle," Yuugi said proudly. "My grandfather found it on an expedition to Egypt many years ago, and he gave it to me in pieces. It took me eight years to solve it, but I finally completed it last year."

"And these—Millennium Items. There are seven, correct?"

"Aa," Yuugi affirmed, though he wondered how Harry knew that. "I also have the Sen'nen Tauk with me, but I left the Rod back home." Yuugi hadn't wanted to risk letting the Rod fall into the wrong hands in another country, so he'd left it in Japan with the hopes his friends could keep it safe. After experiencing first-hand what the Sen'nen Rod could do, he did not want another episode like his last, and hoped he'd made the right choice in letting it out of his sight.

"We believe," Harry said quietly, "that someone may be after these items."

Yuugi resisted the urge to look at Ryou, who was suddenly very interested in the bedspread, making sure not to lean over so the outline of the Ring could be seen under his shirt.

"That's not really a surprise," Yuugi admitted, but Harry was shaking his head.

"You may be used to the thought of desire for these items," Harry said, "but it wasn't until recently that I'd ever even heard of them. And to hear that they held the power to control the world…!" He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. "See, twenty-five years ago, I was able to defeat the darkest wizard to ever lay scourge to Europe. But his followers aren't completely gone, and some are still hiding in the shadows." He frowned. "I think they're still teaching their sons and daughters to uphold the Dark beliefs and trying to find a way to revenge for their master. You two have been lucky; it doesn't seem as though you've ever come in contact with the magic of _my_ world. If a wizard ever came in contact with such ancient power, it would be disastrous."

He paused for a moment, biting his lip before continuing. "There's been evidence as of late that a wizard may already have some control over magic beyond our knowledge."

Yuugi felt Yami snap to attention.

"When I tried to research what I could, I came across your names in our files. It had been documented that the two of you had been involved in magic along with other adults of your time, but that your magic was not like mine. I managed to come in contact with one of the adults listed with you: a man by the name of Pegasus J. Crawford." Shock registered on both Yuugi's and Ryou's faces as they exchanged looks. Harry continued. "He wouldn't tell me much, but I did gather that the two of you were quite knowledgeable about these Millennium Items. I thought that you could learn at Hogwarts more modern magic, and in return, you could help us try to understand what is going on here Europe."

"Of course!" Yuugi exclaimed immediately. "We'll definitely help—right, Bakura?"

Ryou agreed, and Harry nodded his thanks in return. "Now, how old are the two of you? I should tell the headmistress what year you will be in at school."

"We're sixteen," Ryou responded. Yuugi was not surprised to see that Harry looked a little taken aback at hearing that Ryou and Yuugi were the same age; it was so old that he'd stopped being offended at the matter.

"Well, you're probably tired from your flight," Harry said, rising suddenly to his feet. "I'm paying for your room, so go ahead and get to sleep. Tomorrow I'll be by to take you to get your supplies for school, and then you'll be off to school, so you don't have a lot of time to get over your jet-lag." He paused by the door, turning back to look at the teenagers. "Oh, I have one last question, if you know the answer. I only found out about the Millennium Items because I came across the documents when trying to find information about a different topic. Seven years ago my children and my wife's brother's children were playing outside when one of my sons was nearly engulfed by a thick purple mist—"

There was a clatter. Yuugi had hit the coffee table when he'd jumped to his feet. He was glaring at Harry, who was startled to see all the childish innocence had vanished from the boy's face. "Are your children all right?" he demanded.

Harry's eyes widened. He'd been sure Yuugi's voice had been more of a light tenor rather than the bass with which he was speaking now. "Er, I was able to dispel the stuff using a Patronus Charm—"

"A what?"

"Patronus—like a shield powered by happy memories," Harry explained.

"Do you know who cast the Shadows?" the lower-voiced Yuugi asked.

Harry shook his head. "Shadows?" he repeated eagerly. "Do you know something about this?"

"A little," Yuugi said. Ryou simply looked at Harry, a horror-struck expression written across his face. "The Shadows are a portal to the Shadow Realm, where a lost soul may spend eternity wandering, lost, forever punished for whatever wrongdoing he did in his life." His eyes narrowed. "But I thought one could only summon the Shadows with the possession of a Sen'nen Item…" _And I know the whereabouts of all seven…_ "This is serious business."

Harry's face hardened. "I'll look into it. Thank you."

* * *

"_I'm glad they sent for us, now, aibou," _Yami said gravely. _"If there's someone who can use the Shadows hanging around and these people don't even know the first thing about the Shadows… well."_

The spirit was looking out the window of the small room, taking advantage of Ryou's trip to the bathroom to get ready for bed to talk to his hikari without any interruption or danger of being overheard by the spirit of the Sen'nen Ring. Yuugi leaned against the wall next to him, barefooted and clad in star-covered blue pajamas that contrasted greatly with the black punk outfit he'd been wearing during the day.

"I though Shadows couldn't be dispelled unless one knew how to call them, or someone had been banished to the Shadow Realm," Yuugi said quietly, confusion in his lowered brow.

"_Normally that's true," _Yami admitted, _"but if the Shadows were weak enough and the opponent's will was strong enough… No one would be able to get rid of the Shadows I or the grave robber called, but… it worries me that someone might have been able to call the Shadow Realm at all without a Sen'nen Item."_

"That was seven years ago," Yuugi pointed out. "Maybe they had it then…"

Yami counted on his fingers. _"Seven years ago, our Puzzle was still unsolved, but safely in your grandfather's hands. Either Shadi or Pegasus had the Eye; Shadi definitely had the Key and the Scale. Marik, Rishid, and Ishizu would be watching over the Rod and the Tauk, and Bakura's Ring hadn't been uncovered yet. And if it had been the Ring, then why would it have been returned for Bakura's father to find?"_

"So it doesn't make any sense," Yuugi said with a sigh. Yami nodded, discontent; his hikari reached out to take his hands. "There's no use worrying about it now, Yami. We've got a lot of stuff coming up the next few days, so we'd better get our rest!"

"_You're right_,_" _Yami said with a nod and a small smile. _"We should be prepared."_

"That's the spirit!" Yuugi said, grinning at his own pun as he skipped back over to his bed. He yanked down the covers—and suddenly let out a shout of surprise.

"_Yuugi! What is it?" _Yami flitted to Yuugi's side in an instant.

Yuugi pressed a hand to his chest, ignoring the furious pounding of his heart. "That… just… surprised me, is all," he said, pointing to the furry black lump on his pillow. Yami leaned forwards to better examine it, and suddenly the black kitten opened his amber eyes and hissed.

Yuugi reached out to touch the black cat, which instantly butted its head against Yuugi's hand and purred in a complete reversal. Yuugi smiled, shooing the cat off his pillow.

"_You know what they say about black cats crossing your path,"_ Yami said darkly. Yuugi shook his head.

"Well, I don't believe that," he said, sitting down on the mattress. "Cats were sacred to the ancient Egyptians, weren't they?"

"_Well… yes…"_

"Come on," Yuugi insisted with a sudden jaw-breaking yawn. "I'm exhausted. Let's get to sleep."

_"As you wish. Good night, aibou." _Yami closed his eyes and vanished once more inside the Sen'nen Puzzle as Yuugi removed the chain from around his neck and placed the pendant on his bedside table.

* * *

You'll be seeing much more from Ryou's point of view in the next chapter! (I'll be calling hikari side "Ryou" and yami side "Bakura" to make things simpler, since the thief king was actually named Bakura…)

Interesting bit of trivia… Atemu's name is similar to the Egyptian name "Atum," which means "whole." And once Atemu finds his name, he is finally whole. Yes? :) I thought that was kind of interesting. There's also Aten (variant of Aton), which means "sun disk" and is the name of the Egyption creator of the universe. And that could relate, too. ;) I don't know if there's any connection, but… yeah.

Anway, I'm sorry again. I know this chapter was kind of slow (I was bored writing it, and when the author is bored with it, you know that's a problem). But I'll be skipping completely over the whole Diagon Alley trip, which is totally overdone and quite frankly a little boring, right to the Hogwarts Express, where we'll be back with the Potterworld kids (and the Yugiohworld kids, but it'll start from Potterworld POV). That chapter will be coming up soon—I'm trying to get out as many as I can before I go back to school!


	3. Sorting and Separation

Thanks to my reviewers-- you guys are super special awesome!

Despite not really having anything happen, this chapter is very long and was very difficult to write, which is why it took longer than the last to post. It just didn't want to be written-- I think I rewrote the opening half about four times before I was satisfied. There are some things I just had to skip, too, because I felt that as far as YGOxHP crossovers go, they were way overdone. I mean, I kept the Sorting-- there's really just no way around that-- but Diagon Alley and the arrival at Hogwarts Castle were really unnecessary.

Also, I'm nervous about this chapter because it introduces original characters. I'm comfortable with original characters as long as they have canon family names, but two of the new characters are Muggle-born, so I'm worried about them. I actually thought of their characters before I added the semi-canon characters, so if a certain group of friends seems really, cheesy, that's not my fault. XD (Okay, so technically it is, but I didn't intend it to be that way). You'll see what I mean. Please forgive this unworthy one. xP

I'm using fangirl-level Japanese to emphasize the effects of Yuugi's Language Charm, so please catch me if I get something wrong! I definitely don't want to do that.

So now we have it: the first chapter in which Hogwarts really meets Japan! ;) I hope you like this one! I promise, the plot will thicken very soon. I absolutely love my first arc, and I'm excited to get to the climax. :D Now, read and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

**Sorting and Separation**

* * *

The first of September dawned cloudy and grey, chilly despite the heavy humidity that hung in the air. The bleak weather did nothing to help the mood of the London commuters, pushing through the crowds of King's Cross Station with even less patience and more aggression than usual. They kept their heads down and walked, trying to give off an air of being important, so absorbed in their own little worlds that nobody noticed the crowds of people vanishing through the brick barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten.

Platform 9 ¾ was as chaotic as always, as students rushed to get their luggage on board the train and settle in choice compartments. Those who had already stored away their stuff bade their parents final goodbyes and greeted as many friendly faces they could find. Scared first-years stared around them in awe, slightly unsure of what they should do or where they should go, clutching heavy trunks in their hands as they struggled to load them. Steam filled the air, winding around the bright, crimson body of the train that had remained completely unchanged since its creation.

Possibly the two most lost-looking people of the pack were Yuugi and Ryou, who were desperately trying and utterly failing to remain unnoticed. In Domino, where eccentric hair and clothing styles were completely normal—almost encouraged—Yuugi and Ryou could blend right in. Here in London, they were completely conspicuous, and no one seemed to want to get too close. Ryou might have been all right despite his white hair, but Yuugi just was not helping the situation at all with _his_ crazy hair and conspicuous gold pendant.

"Maybe next time, Yuugi," Ryou said, sweatdropping, "you should wear a jacket or something. The Sen'nen Puzzle is a little, anou, attention-seeking."

"But I can't _help_ it," Yuugi argued, though he was getting very tired at the side glances and pointed fingers. He knew his hair stuck out like a black rose in a field of red, but there really was nothing he could do about it. "No one back home ever finds it strange! And I like what I'm wearing. It's too hot for a jacket, and mou hitori no boku is fond of gold."

_-Don't pin this on me, aibou,- _Yami murmured, a smirk to his voice.

Ryou shook his head, the corners of his lips pulled upwards. "The only gold things you're wearing right now are the Puzzle and one bracelet," he pointed out. "It's too bad you can't hide your Item like I can the Ring…"

"But I'd never want to hide it!" Yuugi said in surprise. "I like knowing the Pharaoh is there when I need him, no matter how strange it looks."

The look in Ryou's blue eyes was wistful. He'd always been envious of Yuugi's peaceful relationship with his possessing spirit. Yuugi recognized his mistake almost instantly and laid an apologetic hand on Ryou's arm. "Oops… sorry, Bakura."

"No, you didn't do anything," Ryou assured the shorter boy. He turned around abruptly to pick up his heavy trunk, and Yuugi sensed that the matter was closed. Ryou grunted with the effort; he'd packed a small suitcase for the trip on purpose, not really needing a huge wardrobe of clothes, but his and Yuugi's shopping trip with Harry to the most amazing place they'd ever been had caused his supply of things to nearly double, and his schoolbooks weren't exactly feather-light. Yuugi abandoned his own trunk and offered to help carry Ryou's on board. They each took an end, Yuugi walking backwards and Ryou forwards, loading it successfully. They weren't quite as lucky with Yuugi's trunk; Yuugi stumbled over backwards, falling flat on his back and resulting in bruised toes for Ryou and a bruised ankle for Yuugi.

"_Ouch!_ Sorry, Bakura, I tripped!" Yuugi winced in pain, his ankle throbbing as Ryou nursed his foot. The trunk was still trapping his leg, and he could feel his yami's concern; the Pharaoh had felt the fall, too. Yami was better equipped to handle pain, but his hikari wasn't quite so used to it. Yami split swiftly from his host, his ghostly form standing over Yuugi. _-Are you all right?-_

_I'll be fine—what was it that tripped me?_

"Hey, are you okay?"

Yuugi looked up from his position on the ground, locking gazes with a brown-haired, brown-eyed boy about his age. "H-hai, daijoubu," he stammered, hoping the Language Charm was still working. It was for him, at least; though he recognized the question was in English, it registered in his mind as something he understood. For a moment he panicked when a confused look crossed the other boy's face, though he moved swiftly to lift the trunk from Yuugi's leg. But the confused look changed swiftly to curiosity as the other boy's gaze lingered on Yuugi's eyes and hair even as he held out a hand to help Yuugi off the floor. Yuugi realized with unease that the brunet was even taller than Ryou; he hated feeling even shorter than he already was.

"How did you get your hair and eyes like that?" he blurted eagerly, looking from Yuugi to Ryou. Ryou turned red, embarrassed, and Yuugi sighed.

"It's completely natural," he said firmly, but the brunet didn't look convinced. "Thanks for helping me with my trunk."

"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all," the brunet said cheerfully, waving a hand. "I saw that cat heading straight for you and I knew you were about to lose it. Sorry I couldn't get there in time to catch you, but…"

Yuugi turned, surprised, at the mention of a cat, directing his attention to the floor of the train. Sure enough, a small black cat sat grooming himself on top of Ryou's trunk, looking absolutely smug. _It's the same cat as the one in the Leaky Cauldron! _Yami realized, surprised. _What's it doing here?_

"I'm Hugo Weasley, by the way," the brunet continued, completely oblivious to Yuugi's wandering attention. "I'll be a fifth year. I don't think I've ever seen you two around, but you look too old to be first-years."

"Well, we're going to be official sixth-years, but we'll be taking a couple lower-level courses," Ryou explained, repeating what Harry had told them. While they would be on par with their year-mates for a couple classes, some of the more modern magic would be impossible to start off using at a sixth-year level. "We're new to this kind of magic, you see. What we're used to back home is totally different."

Hugo looked completely enraptured by the exotic appearances of the two strangers he'd just helped out. "Where _is_ home?" he asked eagerly. "And I don't understand… there are other kinds of magic? I've never heard that before. And if you've learned something else, then why are you _here?_"

"We can only answer one question at a time!" Ryou said with a half-grin. "Um… it's a long story, really." He cast a glance at Yuugi, who tore his confused attention away from the cat. They hadn't rehearsed what they were supposed to tell people about their reasons for coming; they'd decided that their yami and the Millennium Items should be kept completely secret, but there had to be _some_ explanation as to why their magic seemed so different.

"Come sit with me, then!" Hugo urged, and then paused. "…That is—I mean, if you want to…" he added, uncertainty in his voice.

_-I really like this kid,- _Yami said abruptly, suddenly interested in Hugo. The boy's soul was innocent, and quite like Yuugi's in many ways: childish, disorganized, but completely endearing. -_He seems much like you, aibou.-_

Anzu would be proud, Yuugi thought wryly. He'd made a friend so soon, even though he _had_ had to drop a heavy trunk on his food to do it. Yuugi looked back at Hugo, a large smile evident on his face. "No, we'd love to," he assured Hugo. "Ne, Bakura?" Ryou nodded his agreement with relief; so far people were friendly. If it could stay that way, he'd have an easier year than he anticipated… as long as the spirit of his Ring kept a low profile.

"Great!" Hugo enthused, turning on his heel and waving for Yuugi and Ryou to follow him. "I'm only two compartments down, so it's not very far to walk."

Blue eyes met purple as Yuugi and Ryou silently asked each other the same thing: _What are we going to tell him?_

_-Allow me,- _Yami offered suddenly. _-I can lie much better than you, aibou. In fact, if I'm the one speaking, we might not be technically lying at all.- _He ignored the skepticism he sensed from his host, even though Yuugi agreed that it was true that he was a horrible liar. Yami understood perhaps even better than Yuugi the need to keep the Millennium Items a secret: the less people who knew about them, the better. He'd seen what they could do in the wrong hands, and from Harry's warning, the effects would be even worse in the hands of the wrong _wizard._ _-Just trust me.-_

Those three words did it for Yuugi, who instantly relinquished control of his body. After all Yami had done for him, he trusted the spirit without question. Yami opened his violet eyes to the world, looking around him with interest. Ryou sensed the change instantly, eyeing Yami curiously; the Pharaoh never took over Yuugi's body unless there was a reason.

True to his word, Hugo slid open the door to a compartment only a few steps away, just as the floor of the train began to shake with the promise of movement. He didn't seem to notice the subtle changes in "Yuugi's" appearance; after all, one could really only tell the difference between spirit and host when one was looking for it, or if one had seen the change a number of times. It would be obvious then, but not to Hugo, who smiled as he greeted a girl with dark red hair and turned to introduce her to his new friends. "This is my best friend and cousin, Lily Potter," Hugo explained. Lily smiled, though she couldn't help but look bewildered.

"Pleased to meet you," Ryou said, shaking Lily's hand. "Is your father named Harry, by any chance?"

Lily looked as though she'd heard that question too many times for her liking. "Yes, my dad is _the_ Harry Potter," she said with a bit of a sigh to her words. Ryou was taken aback by her unexpected answer. He'd noticed the constant stares and overly-friendly greetings Harry had received in Diagon Alley, but he hadn't thought too much of it. It had been Yuugi who had asked Harry why people treated the Auror like a celebrity. Ryou had asked Lily out of curiosity of her relationship to the man who had helped him and Yuugi, not from awe at the fame of her name.

Yami, however, instantly picked up on the source of her irritation. "Your father helped us out a lot this week, is all," he said by way of explanation, and a dawning comprehension instantly lit up the red-haired girl's hazel eyes.

"Oh, so _you're_ the new students from Japan!" she realized. "Dad told us he'd been asked to help you out. Yuugi and Ryou, right? Am I pronouncing your names correctly?"

Ryou smiled. "Yes. I'm Ryou, but everyone calls me Bakura."

"Oh, sorry about that," Lily said, blushing slightly as she sat down in the middle of one of the seats. "Do you go by another name than Yuugi, then?" she asked, turning to face Yami.

Yami shook his head. "No, just Yuugi is fine," he told her, though he could feel Yuugi's slight discomfort. It would take some getting used to calling complete strangers by their given names rather than their surnames. Yami, not having grown up with the same customs as Yuugi, didn't have the same reservations as his host; so he hadn't seen any reason not to let her use his given name, since that seemed to be the custom in the West. All the better to blend in.

"Yuugi and Bakura were going to tell me why they were transferring here," Hugo informed his cousin. "And why they're taking different-level courses and stuff." He turned to look expectantly at Yami and Ryou.

Ryou glanced at Yami again, inviting him to speak for both of them. Yami straightened his back and held his chin up, speaking with a smile playing around the corners of his lips. "Where we're from," he began, "magic is only granted to a privileged few. It runs in my veins—has so since birth—but it's a very ritualistic art. It's powerful, but very subtle, so I hardly even knew I could use magic until about a year ago. Since the gifts given to us aren't quite as apparent as the magic you know so well, the school of magic in Japan didn't want to take us. I guess your father found out our powers could use some honing, Lily; after all, power beyond even the beholder's knowledge can be a very dangerous thing."

He'd slipped into Pharaoh-mode again, and Yuugi was quick to point that out. If Yami acted like the King of Games around people he didn't know, it would make it easier for people to realize that Yuugi had two personalities, and Yuugi would rather that not happen. Yami assured Yuugi he'd give up control once he sensed the need to lie was disappearing.

"Oh…" Lily said, looking at Hugo; both still looked a little confused, but Yami's tone had clearly indicated that the matter was closed. "So… you'll only just be beginning to learn some magic, but others you'll have been practicing already," she guessed.

"Right," Yami said, smiling.

Without warning, the compartment door suddenly slid open, and with it came a low, angry voice. "—don't want to put up with your stupid—"

Lily rose to her feet. "Hello, Malfoy."

The speaker suddenly stopped, turning his attention back from whomever was behind him from the scene at hand. He was tall and thin, with white-blond hair and flat grey eyes and a completely bored expression written on his face. "Oh," he said in a dispassionate tone, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me. We didn't realize this compartment was taken. The train's only just started moving, you see." Though his words were polite enough, Yami got the sense that he wanted to be anywhere but where he stood at the moment. The blond boy took a step back and began to shut the door, but a hand that didn't belong to him suddenly grasped the edge, blocking its movement.

"Hold on a moment, Scorpius, is that the Weasel family in there?" said a second male voice, this one filled with much more interest. The blond had time to give an exasperated sigh before he was shoved out of the way and the compartment door thrown open once more. Hugo instantly followed Lily's example in jumping to his feet, his hand swiftly moving to his pocket to grab hold of something there. They were now faced with a large, black-haired brick of an older teenager and a slim, strawberry-blonde girl about the same age as her companions. The dark-haired boy was grinning, and the blonde girl was leaning against the doorway, a smirk in her blue eyes.

"Have a nice summer, Weasel-Pot?" he asked innocently, ignoring the stony faces of Lily and Hugo. "We missed you lots, you know. Where's the rest of the family?"

Yami and Ryou were very confused.

"Can we not do this right now?" came the irritated voice of the first boy they had seen enter. The blonde girl huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Both of you, stop acting as though you're better than everyone else," she said in a low, husky voice. "I swear, you're no better than _they_ are. And your insults are juvenile, Adonis. Just for the record." Her blue eyes lingered on Ryou and Yami, sparking a note of interest in her expression. She moved forwards then, every movement deliberate and sensuous, stopping right in front of the two boys. "New meat," she said with a smile, shaking out her hair behind her. "You don't look like anyone I remember seeing before."

"That's because we're not," Yami said stiffly, his eyes narrowed. She was like a snake: seductive and deadly.

"Ah," she said, unperturbed by Yami's cold attitude. "I'd heard a rumor…" She placed a hand briefly on Ryou's chest before letting in drop to her side. "Well, then. My name is Cassandra Greengrass, and these are Adonis Nott and Scorpius Malfoy. I hope you'll think of us as friends. It's dangerous hanging around Gryffindors like those two; you'll either develop an irritatingly large ego or an inferiority complex as a result."

"That's enough," Yami growled. Greengrass, suddenly unnerved by the intensity of Yami's glare, huffed and turned away from the Pharaoh, who, despite being shorter than the girl, was still quite intimidating. Her blue eyes went to meet Ryou's, and suddenly Ryou's arm shot out to grab Greengrass by the chin, pulling her face close to his so they stood nose-to-nose.

"I think it's a bit to late to save our egos, kitten," Yami Bakura growled in a voice that was nearly a purr, his lips curling up in a smirk. "Short stuff over there will fit right in, so there's no need to worry. You have a lot to learn when it comes to threats. Would you like a little demonstration from me?"

Greengrass was frozen in his grip, her eyes wide. Yami's response was swift, grabbing Bakura's wrist and jerking it away from the girl's face. "I think she has the idea," he snapped, his eyes now flashing crimson. The air in the compartment was so tense it could have been cut with a knife. Lily and Hugo, who from their first impression had judged the white-haired boy to be sweet, a little shy, and very polite, were staring in shock at this total reversal of personality. Adonis Nott hadn't known Bakura to be any different, but he knew enough to know hostility, and whipped his wand out, pointing it straight at the grave robber. "_Don't be an idiot,_" Yami hissed to Bakura, who sneered back.

Greengrass backpedaled as quick as she could, giving Bakura a look that was half-fear, half-admiration. Bakura's eyes narrowed as he read her expression. He pulled his wrist from Yami's hold and rasped back in Japanese, "Don't tell me what to do, Pharaoh. I'll have my fun." But the malice faded from his eyes, and Ryou returned to his body, bewildered at the looks Hugo and Lily were giving him. He turned instantly to Yami, his face clearly saying, _What did he do?_

"I told you this was a waste of time," Malfoy muttered, breaking the silence. That was the cue Greengrass and Nott needed; she turned on her heel and swept from the compartment, and he followed after giving Ryou a suspicious look.

"_I don't like the look of them," _Yuugi said, splitting from Yami to watch the door shut with a slam. Yami turned to Lily and Hugo as Ryou asked, "Who were they?"

There was a pause as Lily and Hugo struggled to comprehend what they had just seen, including the return of Ryou's seemingly innocent countenance. Finally Hugo sighed as he sat down. "Greengrass and Nott are two years ahead of Lily and me, and Malfoy just one. They've got a bit of a reputation for being hostile—well, Greengrass and Nott do, anyway. Malfoy sort of follows them around probably because Greengrass is his cousin, looking fed up with the two of them. And I don't blame him; the other two are huge rivals, they just hang out with each other because they know they can use each other to try to reach the upper hand in everything that they do. As Greengrass said, they dislike us because they think our parents' fame has gone to our heads, so they're not exactly the most pleasant of people."

"What is that?" Yami asked, curious. "Slytherin?" It was difficult wrapping his tongue around the strange word.

"They said something about Gryffindor, too," Ryou added.

"Two of the four Hogwarts houses," Lily explained; they'd obviously decided to let drop the subject of Ryou's behavior. "Potters and Weasleys have always been in Gryffindor, and those three are in Slytherin. The other two houses are Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and each house has its own valued quality. It'll be interesting to see where you two end up."

"Well, the Slytherins seem like an unpleasant lot," Ryou said with a sigh, eliciting more furtive glances from the younger wizards. He could only hope that he and Yuugi were not split up into separate houses, whichever one it might be—especially as it seemed that the spirit of his Ring would not be letting him rest easy.

"They're not quite so bad ever since the Great War, or that's what Mum and Dad say, anyway," Hugo said with a shrug. "And most of them really aren't as bad as those three you just met." He stretched then, sliding down on his seat so he could fully extend his long body. Hugo glanced out the window before checking his watch with a sigh. "We've got a long way to go," he said in a tone of long-suffering, "and really not a lot to do until dinnertime. And that won't be for a while."

Yami smirked. "Well, I can think of something you might find interesting," he mused. "All we need is a flat surface that won't jolt around too much." The switch back to Yuugi's control was gradual and subtle; Yami's work was done, and it was time to let Yuugi have some fun. The purple-eyed boy smiled as he reached for his backpack. "How do you like card games?"

* * *

The opening feast of every school year had always been James Potter's favorite part of returning to Hogwarts. It was when James had first set eyes on the castle, had claimed Gryffindor as his home, and begun the most exciting seven years of his life. And now it was almost over. This was the last opening feast he would ever attend, and the reality of it had hardly set in. He could still remember following a pack of terrified first-years to the three-legged stood that held the Sorting Hat, so terrified he would not be a Gryffindor, like it was yesterday. Each year the line of first-years had seemed smaller and smaller, and now James could hardly believe that he had ever been that small. It was possibly the strangest he'd ever felt during the opening feast, and it certainly wasn't helping that his younger brother—Albus Severus Potter, of all people, the boy who cried until he was twelve and was terrified of being Sorted into Slytherin—was sitting next to James with a gleaming Gryffindor Prefect's badge on his chest.

It was amazing that the Hat could think of a new song every year, James thought absentmindedly, his chin resting in the palm of his left hand. Of course, there probably wasn't much else to do during the school year, but after centuries surely it had to get old, and one had to run out of ideas soon enough. There were only so many ways one could sing about brave Gryffindor, wise Ravenclaw, hard-working Hufflepuff, and cunning Slytherin and how they'd formed the school. Yet James had not heard one recycled song for every seven Sorting ceremonies he'd seen.

Maybe, he reflected, it had the songs on a twenty-year cycle, or something.

James watched the Sorting ceremony with the most interest he'd ever had since his and Al's (Lily had never worried him—if that kid hadn't gotten into Gryffindor James would have eaten his socks). With each new Gryffindor, he felt pride welling in his chest, but he could also appreciate those sorted into the other houses. This one looked loyal and stubborn, a true Hufflepuff; this one stared around with curious eyes, drinking in all the information, a perfect Ravenclaw; this one had a shrewd, calculating look to his face, a great fit for Slytherin; and this one marched up to the hat with his chest puffed out and confidence radiating from his being despite the too-long robes over which he stumbled, dead match for Gryffindor.

He was almost sad when it was over, knowing he'd just seen his last Sorting ceremony. As Professor Longbottom, deputy headmaster and Head of Gryffindor, rolled up the scroll bearing the names of the first-years, James turned expectantly to the staff table at the front of the room. He spotted his father sitting at the side of Professor Chang, who rose to her feet as a hush fell over the Great Hall. Harry Potter was not an uncommon sight to see at opening and closing Hogwarts feasts, but few people knew that this year they would be seeing him at the table much more often.

"Welcome," she said in a quiet voice that nevertheless carried across the entire room, "to the start of a new term. Before we begin the feast, I have two quick announcements. First, our usual Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Kirke, has decided to take a year or two of leave to travel the country and lend his talents where needed. While he is gone, you will be taught instead by none other than Harry Potter." A wry look crossed her face as Harry stood to shocked and excited whispers that instantly swept the hall. James looked down the table, catching Al's eye. Kirke had in fact only "decided" to take a year of leave after Chang had hired Harry to watch after the new students. Kirke didn't mind the deal; Chang had agreed to pay him full salary in exchange, and Kirke, who felt he was getting the best end of the bargain by far, cheerfully accepted the proposition and wished Harry good luck grading essays every other night.

Harry took his seat again, and Chang raised her hand for silence. "Second," she said in that soft, carrying voice, and the whispers fell instantly. "In a hope to work for further international unity—" (another lie—Hogwarts was in fact defying the Japanese ministry by interfering with its affairs) "—we are pleased to be welcoming this year two new sixth years from Japan." The surprised murmurs began again, and heads began turning as students sought out these new students. "We have waited to Sort them after the first-years in order to make their transfer as easy an affair as possible. Help them learn our rules and customs as you would any first-year."

She looked at Longbottom and nodded; the deputy headmaster turned with his wand raised and removed the Disillusionment Charm cast on Yuugi and Ryou.

Yuugi blinked as the charm was lifted, feeling as though hot water had been tipped down his head and neck. Now every eye was on him and Ryou, and Yuugi could feel his face growing hot. He placed a hand on the Sen'nen Puzzle for comfort. Yuugi had always hated being in the spotlight. Ryou was slightly more used to it, but he didn't look too pleased at the idea of trying on the Sorting Hat. Both duelists had been stricken at the thought of anything looking inside their heads, because they knew just what might be found; Ryou had even more reason to fear such a revelation, and as he'd guessed from the alphabetized Sorting of the first years, he'd be the first one to try on the Hat.

Yuugi looked up at Ryou and gave him a smile. "We'll be fine," he whispered. "It's just a hat. Think of it as a game."

Ryou couldn't help but smile at that. "You think of _everything_ as a game, Yuugi."

Yuugi grinned sheepishly, but he didn't have much of a chance to respond. With only two names to remember, Longbottom didn't need the list, so he held the rolled-up scroll in his hands as he called out, "Bakura, Ryou!"

James watched with interest as the white-haired kid stepped forwards, looking as though he was about to sick. At first glance, James had thought he was a girl. His features were soft and kind, and his hair was certainly a more womanly length. But examining his body shape, James had deduced that Ryou was indeed a boy: his hips were too slim, his shoulders too broad for a woman. The other kid James had trouble believing he was old enough to be a sixth-year; he looked thirteen or fourteen, not near the maturity level most sixteen-year-olds had. James had to wonder what the two new students had done to their to get it so strange-looking; he thought it was absolutely wicked, and fully intended on doing whatever it was to his own hair.

Ryou dropped down on the stool and gripped the edges, shutting his eyes tightly as the darkness of the Hat enveloped his vision. For a moment nothing happened, and then a quiet voice spoke in his ear, making him jump.

"Ah," the Sorting Hat said. "This is something I have never seen before. There are _two_ minds I see…"

Ryou's hands tightened on the stool, his knuckles turning white. He thought desperately, _Don't do anything, don't do anything, don't do anything…_ Already he could feel Yami Bakura shifting restlessly in the back of Ryou's mind, not liking the idea of anything probing his private soul room.

The Hat picked up on Ryou's pleas instantly. "You are scared of this being?" it asked. "You are the host, I see… so you are the dominant mind? Well, then. You are highly loyal to and grateful for your friends, yet you are more of a loner. You are brave and willing to sacrifice even yourself for the greater good, to do what must be done. Yet your mind is one of clarity—a brilliant tactician. Just as your other mind, though he is more cunning than you. Hm, yes. I do believe a mind quite as interesting as yours would belong in RAVENCLAW!"

The last word rang in Ryou's head with a double timbre, and he knew the hat had shouted it out to the entire hall. Ryou was simply relieved that Yami Bakura had not made trouble and that he had not been Sorted into the same house as the three who had apparently pissed off his darker half on the train. When the Hat was removed from his head, Ryou could see the blue-eyed Slytherin girl smirking at him from her table. Longbottom pointed him in the direction of the applauding Ravenclaw table, and Ryou walked towards it in a daze. He was a bit disappointed not to have been Sorted into the same house as Lily and Hugo, whom he'd already met and liked. When he reached the end of the table, he stood uncertain as to where he should sit. He walked slowly down the line, looking for an empty seat, wherever one might be. His new housemates stared shamelessly after him.

Ryou paused when he felt a tug on his cloak. He looked down into warm black eyes and had a strange sensation of being unable to tell at first if the owner of the eyes was a boy or a girl. It was a brief feeling, however, for once he took in the rest of the figure, Ryou realized quickly he was a boy. "Well, what do you know," the black-eyed boy said cheerfully. "You're even more bloody effeminate than I am. Don't worry, it just endears you with the women." He winked at the girls who were staring at him and Ryou. His black hair was long for a boy's, but it was still a distinctly masculine cut despite the bangs that fell into his face. He carried himself with the air of one laid-back and self-assured.

The black-eyed boy patted the seat next to him. Ryou dropped down quickly and grasped the hand the boy offered. "I'm Noah Blake, sixth year and Muggle-born," he introduced himself, "so I know what it's like to be new to this whole deal. I'll help you out."

Ryou smiled gratefully. "Thank you," he said earnestly, but fell quiet as the applause died away and Yuugi stepped forwards.

"Mutou, Yuugi!"

Yuugi was used to having people watch him when he dueled, but those were times when he was so caught up in what he was doing that he hardly had time to notice the people around him. Now he didn't even have one card to distract him from the crowd, and he clenched his fists as he sat down on the stool. He'd told Ryou to see it as a game, so he would take his own advice. It was a test, and he would pass it.

The hat slipped down over his eyes, and almost instantly Yuugi heard the surprised voice of the Sorting Hat. "I have never seen minds such like this, and yet two of you with multiple souls sit here on the same day. But your mind—both minds—you are so different from the boy from before…"

_Well, I should hope I'm quite unlike the tomb robber, _Yami muttered, disgruntled.

"And your souls are so much more closely intertwined…" the Hat continued, sounding very interested. Yuugi was not sure if he like this spying Hat. "It was almost difficult to tell which of you is the host. I sense a great cunning, a capacity for greatness. You would do well in Slytherin. Both minds are so sharp, so honed, just like your Ravenclaw friend. Yet your loyalty knows no bounds… you rely greatly on your friends, and you work hard to achieve your goals. Yes, Hufflepuff would be a great match."

Yuugi waited for the Hat to call out the name of the house, but the Hat paused. "Ah, but what is this?" it said. "Bravery—oh, yes, such admirable bravery. I see the things you have done. Near-limitless courage and much chivalry, a desire to keep your friends from harm. This is quite certain—I had better put you in GRYFFINDOR!"

Longbottom yanked the Hat off Yuugi's head as the cheering began again. Yuugi got to his feet as the deputy headmaster grinned at him. "You'll love it," the professor mouthed. Yuugi nodded his thanks before turning to look at Ryou, giving him an apologetic smile. Ryou smiled back and waved a hand. He was sitting next to a boy with black hair and golden-tanned skin who was tugging lightly on Ryou's hair. The boy gave Yuugi a thumbs-up. Yuugi grinned at his friend (who sweatdropped) before hurrying over to the Gryffindor table, where Hugo was motioning for Yuugi to sit next to him.

"Too bad you didn't get the same house as your friend," Noah said sympathetically as he finally stopped attacking Ryou's head by hair-pulling, "but hey, that's the whole point of exchanges, right? Making new friends! Lorcan, pass the fried chicken, would you?"

Ryou's jaw dropped. When he'd sat down, the gleaming golden plates and goblets had been completely empty. Now they were heaped with all kinds of food. He was used to holographic monsters' appearing out of no where, but this was completely different. Noah accepted the plate of chicken from a grey-eyed blond boy who was eyeing Ryou with an eerie look of intensity. "Bakura, this is Lorcan Scamander. He's a bit of a head case, so don't pay any attention to anything he says."

"I resent that," Lorcan murmured in a voice that sounded as though he was only half paying attention, even though his dreamy gaze was oddly focused.

"You know I love you," Noah said. "Swordfish, Bakura? And where's that twin brother of yours?" Bakura understood that the latter question was directed at Lorcan.

"Sitting with Noelle and her friends," Lorcan responded. "I was wondering why you hadn't asked earlier. I think a wrackspurt grabbed them, which is why they didn't catch up when we got off the carriage."

"You know, it's a wonder people don't believe those exist," Noah said thoughtfully, chewing on the end of his fork. "All evidence totally points to it."

"There are lots of things people don't believe exist that do," Lorcan agreed. "Just because one can't prove it doesn't mean it isn't there, like the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"I'm still not totally sold on that one yet, mate," Noah said dryly.

"What's the Crumple-Horned Snorkack?" Ryou asked, curious now. "Some sort of Duel Monster?"

"Duel Monster?" Lorcan repeated blankly, confusion flashing in his grey eyes.

"Oh, hey, is that…" Noah said, brow furrowed. "I think of heard of that before. A card game, right? I've heard it was popular in Japan, but it's never really caught on much over here in the West. Do you play?"

Ryou nodded, reaching into the pocket of his robes for his ever-present deck. It hadn't been much of a disappointment to him to learn that, as an electronic device, duel disks wouldn't work on the Hogwarts grounds. Unlike Yuugi and Yami, Ryou preferred to duel the old-fashioned way, without holograms; and it was a way to keep the spirit of the Ring at bay. Of course, if the tomb robber _really_ wanted to, he could just summon the monsters in physical form from the Shadow Realm, but it would be easier to keep him from challenging the Pharaoh without the duel disks. Yami Bakura preferred show.

Ryou pulled one card from the top of his deck: Dark Necrophia. This was a card his yami had added to the deck, but it went well with the occult theme Ryou had built. Many often found it odd that Ryou was so fond of the supernatural, especially the darker part of it, but his deck had been full of such monsters even before he'd been possessed by the Millennium Ring. Noah and Lorcan leaned over in interest; Noah shuddered at the sight of the card. "Are all cards this dark?" he asked.

Ryou shook his head. "No, that's just the theme of mine," he explained. "I like the supernatural."

"You and the Scamander twins ought to get along great," Noah muttered. Ryou half-smiled.

"How is your supper?" Lorcan asked mildly, his attention on Ryou. "It seemed that the house-elves were trying to accommodate your taste in food. There's a lot of fish."

"Fish isn't _all_ people eat in Japan," Ryou said with a sigh. "And I grew up in England before traveling a lot with my father, so I'm used to all sorts of meals."

"They don't have any rice," said an unfamiliar voice from behind Ryou. "I think they failed at accommodating." Ryou turned his attention to her. She bore a striking resemblance to Noah, though her cheekbones were higher, and she was a couple inches shorter. She was looking at Ryou curiously. "You're even more effeminate than my brother. Don't worry, all the girls will be in love with you before sundown tomorrow."

Ryou sweatdropped. "Er... thanks?"

Noah laughed. "Bakura, this is my sister, Noelle. Noelle's too good for us to complete our cliché-ness by being part of a group of friends made up completely of twins."

Noelle smiled faintly. "Sorry, but I'm not hanging out with three guys, especially if one of you is my brother. We're close enough already, little bro. I just came over to tell you that Lysander wants you to wait up after supper. He didn't want to come over because he thinks he sees a bunch of blibbering humdingers, or something."

"Right. But there's no need to be so dramatic," Lorcan said with a nod. "We'll wait up."

Before Ryou knew it, dinner was over, and the dishes were just as squeaky-clean as they had been before the food had appeared. This was going to take some getting used to, Ryou thought dizzily as Professor Chang bade them good night and sent them off to their common rooms. As the students stood and began to crowd towards the door, Lorcan turned and waved to somebody down at the opposite end of the Ravenclaw table. Noah grabbed Ryou's arm and pulled him after Lorcan, shoving through the students heading in the other direction. The boy Ryou saw then could be no one but Lorcan's brother—Lysander Scamander looked exactly the same, down to the dreamy expression with oddly focused grey eyes.

"Sorry," Lysander said, greeting his brother and friend. "I meant to sit with you, but…" He trailed off, eyeing Ryou, who was getting very disconcerted with all this staring business. Noah came to his rescue.

"Come on, I bet you're still all effed up from jet-lag," the dark-haired boy said. "You've got a lot to do tomorrow, and I'm tired." He yawned as if to prove his point.

Ryou followed the three boys, his head a whirl. With all the sights passing him along the corridors of the castle, he hardly noticed the route to Ravenclaw Tower or paid attention to the riddle required to enter. He caught just a glimpse of the airy common room before he was whisked up to a dorm room where he found all his clothes and books laid out at the foot of a blue-curtained four poster bed, where he changed and fell instantly asleep.

* * *

Was that bearable? I hope so. Please give me your feedback-- praise, constructive criticism, fact-checking, what have you. The plot can only get more and more exciting from here! ;)

Oh! So my name-meaning search for Atemu continues-- and this time I got an exact match. As it turns out, "Atemu" is the name of the great god of Annu (Heliopolis), one of the most ancient cities of Egypt. Coincidence? I think not... (I also looked up the hieroglyphics of his name, and it _does_ translate out it into "Atemu" rather than "Atem." Take that, English dub. XD)

Watch for the next update soon! I'm going back to school a week from Wednesday, which will significantly limit the time I'll have to write this story, so I'm trying to get out as many chapters as possible before then. Of course, because I'm a master at procrastination, I'll probably wind up writing for you guys rather than doing homework for my four AP classes of six. Ahaha. I'm having such fun with this story. I hope you are, too!


	4. Complications

So as it turns out, my memory is crap and Bakura's eyes are brown, not blue. (headdesk) Gah. Well, from now on, that's the color I'll be using! Also, Yuugi and Atemu are apparently the same height—Atemu just holds himself differently, giving the illusion that he's taller, and the anime exaggerates the height change (five-foot pharaoh equals ultimate WIN). Yay for double-checking character facts!

Also, when I get around to it, I'm going to go into a rant about continuity (and the lack thereof) in the Memory World arc. Luckily for me, it opened up a bunch of plot-holes I could use for this story (but shh!), but there are still things in the final arc that make _zero_ sense when put in context with the rest of the series. (facepalm) Ahh, last-minute ideas. They are everyone's friends. XD

With the addition of this chapter, this is the longest story I've put up! (throws confetti) I began just doing one-shots because I didn't have the motivation for anything longer, but because I've been having fun with this story, motivation hasn't been too big of a problem. :) This was another difficult chapter to get through, because I'm trying to be very careful about my characters. Last chapter's reception was pretty good, but this chapter we see a lot more of them. Let me know what you think (400 hits and nine reviews? I know you're out there, people!). ;) I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**Complications**

* * *

Yuugi had always been a morning person, and he rarely overslept, so he was very surprised when he was jerked rudely from the black haze of sleep by a blaze of red playing across his eyelids. Yuugi threw an arm over his eyes and sat up sharply, throwing off his blankets in confusion. He blinked furiously as his pupils dilated upon the onslaught of light, trying to adjust to his surroundings. "You don't want to be late on your first day, do you?" came an amused voice from above. Yuugi lowered his arm and looked up, meeting green eyes eerily similar to those he had been seeing constantly over the past couple days, and for a moment he wondered if he hadn't just dreamed the train ride, the boat ride, the Sorting. But he soon realized that while this boy highly resembled Harry, he was obviously much younger, did not wear glasses, and did not have a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

The Harry look-a-like was smiling at Yuugi, already dressed in black school robes with scarlet and gold linings and badge that indicated he was a Gryffindor. "The first day is always exhausting. Our year-mates have already gone down to breakfast, so you won't be able to meet them yet, unfortunately. You've got time to shower quickly before class, though, if you want to."

Yuugi blushed, jumping from bed to land on the hardwood floor in his bare feet. "Ah… arigatou!" he exclaimed. "That would have been horrible to be late on my first day." Yuugi examined the green-eyed boy thoughtfully. There was no doubt he was Harry Potter's son. But what was his name? Yuugi remembered hearing it the night before, but there had just been so much information and so many new names and faces to take in that he hadn't remembered it. Western names sounded so strange to him, and many were difficult to pronounce. Yuugi hoped this wouldn't be a recurring problem as the year went on.

"The bathrooms are that way," the prefect explained, pointing to a door on the side of the room closer to Yuugi. "The house-elves will have already brought up your uniform in your size, so you won't have to worry about what to wear." Turning to his trunk, Yuugi found with some surprise that all the plain black robes he'd bought had been modified to look like all the other Gryffindors', complete with colors, badge, and tie. He nodded his thanks to the taller boy before running to take a quick shower, swapping his starry blue pajamas for the wizard's robes. He was clean and dressed within only a couple minutes, buckling his customary black collar around his neck before picking up the Sen'nen Puzzle from his bedside table and slinging the chain around his neck. Right away, Yuugi could hear Yami's voice of greeting.

"Why do you wear that?" the green-eyed boy said curiously, pointing at Yuugi's Puzzle.

Yuugi glanced down at the golden pyramid, shrugging a bit. "My grandfather found it on an expedition to Egypt nine years ago," he explained. "It was a puzzle then, and I only just solved it last year. It means a lot to me."

The other boy didn't say anything for a moment, until a loud chime made him jump. "Oh, damn!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Yuugi, I lost track of the time! We've only got fifteen minutes to eat breakfast and get to class. Do you have your wand and your books?"

Yuugi turned back to the foot of his bed. He'd exchanged his usual brown backpack for a similarly-colored messenger bag, which would be much easier to carry while wearing the robes. Inside it he'd packed all his books and the mysterious nine-inch-long, unicorn hair core ebony wand that he hadn't touched since the night he'd bought it two days before in Diagon Alley, when Harry had taught him and Ryou a few simple, more practical spells. Yuugi felt a thrill of nervousness; working magic was his other self's job. Yuugi didn't exactly trust himself to handle such a dangerous object. Yet at the same time, he was excited at the prospect of making objects fly and turn into something they weren't—without someone else's help. Nodding, he grabbed the bag and turned to the other boy, a smile on his face. "Aa, let's go!"

Yuugi followed the other boy out of the circular dorm room down a flight of stairs, where he caught a glimpse of the cozy-looking room with squashy armchairs that he'd seen the night before (only it had been a lot more crowded then) and out the portrait hole that concealed Gryffindor Tower. The other boy was pointing out directions and trick staircases all the way down to the Great Hall, but Yuugi was simply in awe, watching the moving portraits as they flitted back and forth from frame to frame, combed their hair, swung swords, and yelled out greetings. The hall was almost empty when they entered; Yuugi and the other boy sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table closer to the door and grabbed a few pieces of toast each.

Yuugi pulled out his schedule in between bites, examining it with a bit of growing dread. "I only have a couple classes with the sixth years…" he said. "I don't know how I'm supposed to find my way from class to class!"

The other boy leaned over to look at it as well. "Well, you have first period with us. I can get you there. And second period you've got Charms with the fifth years—that'll be along the way to Transfiguration for me, so I'll show you your way, as well. And you've already met my sister, who's a fifth year, so she can take over there. You'll learn your way soon enough."

Yuugi smiled his thanks. "Arigatou—anou… I don't remember your name…"

"Albus Potter," the boy offered, "but call me Al."

They left the Great Hall after only a couple minutes, and once more Yuugi stared around him as Al led the way through the amazing and confusing hallways of Hogwarts Castle. Soon enough he was walking through the doors of the classroom for his very first class in magic, and Yuugi immediately saw a familiar head of white hair that made him break out in a grin of relief. "Bakura!" At least he wouldn't be the only new student among a group of veteran students.

Ryou turned at the sound of his name, giving Yuugi an equally relieved smile as he caught sight of the shorter duelist. He was standing with the boys with whom Yuugi had seen him last night: the tan, black-haired boy who was short for his age, though still taller than Yuugi; and the dreamy-eyed blond twins who seemed to be having an argument about something, but in very quiet, mild tones. "What are you doing here, Yuugi?" Ryou asked, curiosity in his voice. He'd thought that since they were in different houses, they wouldn't be seeing a lot of each other.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Yuugi said.

Al supplied the answer. "Two houses share a class period," he explained. "Gryffindors have Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws, Herbology and Charms with the Hufflepuffs, and Potions and Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins. Other electives just depend on the year."

"Good to know," Ryou murmured, and Yuugi that he was thinking the same thing: at least now they knew when to expect hostility (it wasn't hard to figure out which houses were with Ravenclaw for each class based on Al's list, even if it had been for Gryffindor). The good thing, Yuugi thought, was that the only Slytherin they'd already met who would be in any of his classes was Scorpius Malfoy, who had seemed by far the least aggressive of the trio.

Before anyone could say another word, a sudden hush spread over the classroom as the door opened, giving way to the messy-haired form of Harry Potter. The students stared at Harry, who stared right back, appearing slightly unsure of what he was supposed to be doing. "Er—please, sit," Harry said quickly, moving to the front of the room. Yuugi dropped down in a desk next to Al's, setting his bag down gingerly on the floor. Yami was listening intently, wanting to soak in every bit of information from this first wizards' class, especially one that, by its very name, suggested he could learn new techniques for defeating Dark enemies.

Harry's emerald gaze swept the room from behind his glasses, lingering a bit on his son and Yuugi and Ryou. He clasped his hands together behind his back and took a deep breath. "Welcome to the new year. I'm pleased to have the chance to teach you, even if just for a short time. Just so you all know, the only practice I've ever had as a professor was forming an illegal study group in my fifth year to rebel against the then-corrupt Ministry of Magic, which wasn't allowing us to practice any magic in class. I believe I taught some of your parents then."

"Oh, yes," one of the Scamander twins spoke out in an interested voice. "Our mum told us about Dumbledore's Army when she heard you were going to be teaching. She said it was the best part of her time at Hogwarts, and that you're a really good teacher."

"Did she?" said Harry, grinning faintly. "Well, I hope I can live up to your mother's standards, Lysander." Abruptly, he straightened up, his resolve strengthened, and glared across the room. "Now, I understand that Professor Kirke has been doing an excellent job of teaching you. While I of course intend to continue expanding your knowledge of spells, I'd like to begin with something a little more practical." Excitement lit the faces of the students in the room. "Spells and knowledge of beasts are all well and good, but they're absolutely useless if you can't apply them," Harry continued calmly. "Professor Kirke has not had the experience to quite understand this, but any witch or wizard who participated in the Great War twenty-five years ago—and that is most of your parents—could tell you what I am about to."

Yuugi noticed that the entire class were sitting on the edge of their seats, hanging onto every word Harry said. Since Harry had said the words 'Great War,' every student's interest had been piqued. Harry had told Yuugi and Ryou briefly about the events of the twenty-five-years-past war, but being told a version by the modest hero wasn't exactly the same as having grown up with the story constantly repeated and glorified. Harry's voice was strong now, as he knew he had his students' attention, and he continued speaking with confidence. "Fighting in a real battle is not like practicing your wandwork in class, or even like a duel one-on-one. Those are safe. You make a mistake, you can correct it. No one will die, and you can plan out your strategy beforehand. But when thrown into a real situation, you have no time to think. You are running purely on adrenaline, and you do whatever springs to the front of your mind. You have one chance to get it right, because danger's coming at you from all sides, and if you screw it up, then you or someone close to you is going to die. These first couple weeks, and intermittently throughout the year, we will not be learning new spells. Instead we will be focusing on how to react and think in such a situation, beginning with formal duels and moving on to more realistic simulations."

The girl sitting right in front of Yuugi raised her hand, and Harry looked at her. "Yes, Miss Finnigan?"

"You're talking as though we're about to be attacked any minute," the girl said with a hint of an Irish accent. "Didn't you defeat Lord Voldemort and his followers twenty-five years ago?"

"Yes, with help," Harry said, inclining his head slightly. "But you never know what's going to come at you." He looked straight at Yuugi and Ryou as he said this, and Yuugi found a chill running down his spine as he stared back, wide-eyed. "An Auror who died during the war used to tell me to have 'constant vigilance.' And that's what we must have. Your parents and I together defeated one evil, but that doesn't mean another won't come. It may well be your turn next."

At that moment, the room couldn't possible have ever been more constantly vigilant.

"Er—right then," Harry said, ending his speech a little awkwardly. "So… I guess we'll start out today with a bit of an experiment in dueling. Why don't we pair up? And try to find someone not in your own house, please."

There was a scraping of wood against wood as the students shoved their chairs away from their desks to hurry and find a partner. Inter-house partnership in class activities was encouraged, but not usually required, so the choice of ready-made friends was limited. Yuugi pulled out his ebony wand from his bag and stared at it for a minute before moving towards Harry. Ryou was already talking to the green-eyed teacher, looking a little uncomfortable, but Harry was smiling.

"—don't mind my asking, but since we've never performed any spells besides the few you taught us, how are Yuugi and I supposed to…?"

"I know you're wondering why you were placed in this level class, especially since Defense Against the Dark Arts is probably the most challenging," Harry said. "But because of your circumstances and your experiences with Dark Arts, we figured it would probably be best to get you learning as quickly as possible." He turned to face Yuugi as the shorter boy approached. "If you'd like extra help, I know my son—and surely any of your new friends—would be more than willing. But I was actually hoping to meet with the two of you privately at least once a week anyway…"

"That would be great," Ryou said in relief.

Harry nodded. "All right, then. You had better find partners before they're all gone. I don't want you with each other."

Yuugi blinked in protest. "Demo… as Bakura already said, we don't know any spells. The only kind of dueling we know is probably very different from yours."

Harry flashed a quick grin. "That's what I'm counting on."

Yuugi and Ryou exchanged startled glances. They didn't think Harry quite understood what they were asking. They were being thrown head-first into this with people who'd been studying magic of a difficult caliber for years. Harry had no idea what damage a duel in _their_ minds could do, especially if they were being faced with other _real_, non-holographic threats. Ryou was about to voice one more protest, when his arm was grasped by a Gryffindor girl with long, red-auburn hair and a very annoyed look.

"I guess I'm stuck with you," she said in a voice of long-suffering. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Harry gave the girl a look of warning. "Be _helpful_, Rose."

"But I don't want—" she bit out, then lowered her eyes, quieted by Harry's stern gaze. "Whatever. Let's go do this, Bakura, and don't drag me down." There was a bit of a panicked look in Ryou's brown eyes as the girl dragged him off.

Yuugi ended up with Noah Blake's sister, Noelle, who was watching Ryou and the girl called Rose almost gleefully, her attention quite occupied until Yuugi managed to call the girl back to earth. Noelle seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing and flushed, embarrassed, searching her pockets for her wand—which she couldn't find. Apologizing profusely to Yuugi, she raced over to her bag and searched for it, explaining as she did that she was "not a morning person, and I just get so confused—I mean, it's the first day—so sorry—" Yuugi had to admit he was a bit worried. He hadn't expected someone from the house of wit and learning to be quite so scatterbrained.

"If it's all right to ask, why were you watching Bakura earlier?" he inquired.

Noelle looked sharply at Yuugi for a moment, but then she laughed, pushing her dark hair out of her equally-dark eyes. "I don't have a crush on him, if that's what you're thinking," she assured Yuugi in a voice much less flustered than it had been seconds ago. "Even though they're opposite in color tone, I'd just think of my brother every time I looked at his damn face, and that would just be… wrong. I was just thinking how great it is that he wound up with Rose Weasley."

Yuugi looked back over to his friend, where the auburn-haired girl was standing with her arms crossed over chest with impatience as Ryou flicked his yew wand, experimenting and attempting to ignore her. "Doushite?" Yuugi couldn't see how Ryou's being with the girl was a good thing.

"Weasley is…" Noelle seemed to be struggling to choose her words, though what she said was very simple and didn't seem to require much thought. "Her mother is high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry, her father is both an Auror and co-owner of a well-known joke shop, and both parents were Harry Potter's best friends and aides when he defeated the Dark Lord. Weasley's mother is simply brilliant, and Rose herself definitely is as well, on top of being very pretty and popular with guys. But she knows all that, and doesn't exactly make a secret of it. She likes to look good, and she looks better against someone who knows exactly what he's doing, when she can make her skills look all the more impressive."

—_And Bakura isn't exactly the best person for that,— _Yami said, speaking for the first time since he'd bid Yuugi a good morning. Yuugi jumped in surprise, but Noelle seemed completely oblivious. —_I'm a bit worried,_— Yami continued. —_We don't want anything causing the tomb robber to emerge…_—

_Mou hitori no boku… there's nothing we can do, really_, Yuugi pointed out.

—_I just hope he doesn't make trouble for Bakura._—

Yuugi was jerked from his conversation as something shot by him, ruffling his hair in its proximity and narrowly missing Noelle, who flinched, as well. "Oops!" Al said sheepishly from his position a few yards away; he'd dodged his partner's spell rather than blocking it as he should have, leaving it free to go after other students in the room.

Noelle seemed to have a late reaction: she jumped, dropping her wand, _after_ the spell dissipated and Al called out. "Oh! Right! We're supposed to be dueling, Mutou, I completely forgot!"

Yuugi examined his own wand. "I'm not sure this is a good idea," he confessed. "I doubt a wizard's duel is much like the kind of duel I'm used to."

Noelle, who had crouched down to pick up her wand, leaned back on her heels. "Wasn't that what Professor Potter was talking about?" she pointed out. "Dueling in unfamiliar conditions? You can watch the others if you're confused, I guess…"

That was very true, Yuugi reasoned. And it wasn't as though he, or at least Yami, wouldn't be able to pick up the basic play of it quickly enough. The problem was actually casting the spells, with which he'd had no practice. But then he remembered Harry's quick grin, and wondered if he was _supposed_ to use Duel Monsters. —_When you're running on instinct you have to be prepared for anything. I think that's what he might have been going for. We might as well use what we know…_— Yami suggested. —_I'm betting he just wants to see what we can do, so we should give him a show._ —

_Don't be __**too**__ much of a showoff, now,_ Yuugi said with a grin, and a flash of gold later, the Pharaoh was watching the multicolored spells and curses flying around the classroom with plenty of interest in his maroon eyes. He could just sense the magic in them, and it made him shiver with excitement at the prospect of a new game, a new challenge he'd never encountered.

"All right," Yami said, turning to Noelle with a smirk. "Let's see what you've got."

There was a short, pregnant pause, during which Noelle's black eyes met Yami's with a strange sort of intensity. Yami hesitated, held by her gaze, and suddenly her wrist flicked out, and a sinister-looking purple jet of light was speeding towards him. Yami hardly had any time to react, and his hand went instinctively to the deck of cards at his belt. _Dark Magician!_

Noelle's spell rebounded off a sudden flash of white light, which faded to reveal the purple-robed figure of the magician. "What is _that_?" Noelle demanded when she could see what Yami had done to block her. Yami was aware that all eyes had turned to him and his faithful Dark Magician, and he smirked with pride.

"This," Yami said, twirling Dark Magician's card between his fingers, "is how _I_ duel."

Noelle made a strange sort of convulsive movement, as though she was trying to shield herself in case her spell bounced back, even though it had already gone. She pointed her wand and opened her mouth, but Dark Magician was quicker with his staff, launching an attack of his own. Noelle flinched; she had no way of knowing what the strange floating thing could do to her. _"Protego!"_ she cried, but found herself thrown backwards despite the shield charm, hitting the corner of one of the desks. Yami stepped forwards then, afraid she'd gotten hurt, but abruptly Noelle's arm snapped out, and with it a stream of red light that hit Dark Magician dead center.

Yami watched in disbelief as his monster shattered, but he didn't have much time to dwell on the thought as Noelle suddenly collapsed flat on her face. Behind her stood Yami Bakura, looking very pleased with himself. "She wasn't paying much attention, I guess," he said with a shrug as Sangan Critter bounded back to his side. Yami growled, eyeing the mutant-Kuriboh-ish monster with distaste.

"She wasn't your opponent," he protested.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he drawled. "Well, her 'constant vigilance' needed some work, anyway."

"_Expelliarmus!" _Another jet of red light, this one thinner and duller than Noelle's, smashed into Bakura, knocking Critter's card from his grip as the monster disappeared. Noah had left his own partner and was scowling at Bakura. "That was low, man," he lectured. "I didn't think you were like that."

Bakura now rounded on the male Blake twin. "There's a lot that you don't know about me," he said slowly, but Rose Weasley moved in front of him without warning, her own spell freezing Noah's legs together. The dark-haired boy swore and toppled over. He wasn't alone, however; Lorcan caught Noah before he hit the ground, and Lysander attacked Rose in his turn with a shout of _"Tarantallegra!" _

"_Protego!" _ Rose raised her wand, and the spell bounced off her magical shield. She smirked, moving to retaliate; but others, looking like Noelle to take Rose down a few notches, pointed their wands at the auburn-haired girl. Yami ducked through the flying spells and grabbed Bakura by the front of his robes, glaring up at the grave robber. The Pharaoh was furious; Yami Bakura had interrupted their first class, first period of the first day with his meddlesome ways. Yami was going to do something about it, if he had any say in things; but just as things were really about to get out of hand—

"_Finite Incantatum!"_

All spells suddenly fizzled, vanishing before they could cause any harm. Those who had been hexed were suddenly able to stand straight, all ailments cured. Confused, the sixth-years looked around them to see Harry standing motionless at the front of the room—_grinning_. "And so we have our lesson of day one," Harry said in a solemn tone that belied his laughing eyes. "In a group situation, chances are it will get out of hand like that. Spells start flying, and sooner or later there's no where to hide and you hardly remember who's on your side."

Instantly, puzzled looks flew from person to person. They were supposed to riot all along?

"Tomorrow I'd like a two-page essay on the pros and cons of close-quarter group battle," Harry said, checking his watch. "It's a bit early, but I'll end class for now. That certainly took much shorter a time to discover than I'd originally thought."

As the students began filing out of the room, discussing their first class with the famous Chosen One in hushed whispers, Harry called out, "Bakura, Mutou, can I speak to you for just a short moment, please?"

"Could you let go of my shirt now, Pharaoh?" Bakura snapped in Japanese. "Or are you so in love with me that you just can't let it go?"

Yami made a disgusted noise and dropped the front of Bakura's robes as though he'd been burned. "I don't care _what_ was supposed to happen, grave thief," he said in a low voice. "You had no right to attack that girl. She had her back turned, and she was not your opponent—"

"Did you miss the entire point of the lesson?" Bakura snarled. "Or did it all just go right through your overly-puffed-up head? _I_ did it because I thought it would be fun, and I wanted that stupid Weasley girl to stop treating ore-sama no yadunoshi like something to walk on rather than something to fear. _I_ don't care about these stupid _classes_ or whatever, but that girl should be glad. I taught her a lesson, right? Just what she was supposed to learn. And it's something you should learn, too…"

"You'll lose omote no Bakura his credibility with friends," Yami growled. "The girl's brother was offended; you saw his face."

"What should I care about—"

Harry cleared his throat, reminding them that he was still in the room. The two spirits sprang apart, and Yami Bakura vanished behind his host's brown eyes. "That was… interesting," he said frankly, raising his eyebrows. "I'd expected the huge uprising to start after a few more misplaced spells, not because someone had purposely attacked another without provocation. And certainly not in the way you attacked Miss Blake."

Ryou's eyes were wide, his face slightly incredulous. He knew that the spirit of the grave robber had taken over his body, but he had no way of knowing what Yami Bakura had done with his body. Harry was making it sound a lot worse than it was.

"I'm sorry I threw you into that head-on," Harry continued. "But I wanted to see what kind of magic you used. What exactly _was_ that? Some sort of—a summons?"

Yami shook his head, holding out the Dark Magician's card for Harry to examine. "There's a card game in Japan," he explained, "that, when combined with the ancient powers of the Sen'nen Items, can summon these monsters from the Shadow Realm in a real or illusionary form. This is my favorite card, and one of my strongest. But—" He frowned, his brows furrowed. "—the girl destroyed my monster with such ease. It was only in illusion form, but it still should not have been so easy to take down. I guess our powers truly aren't much against those of your world…"

"Blake is an exceptionally gifted witch when it comes to curses and hexes," Harry said. "The Blasting Hex that she used on your—your Black Magician?—was at strength far beyond that of her classmates'. But she struggles with the more basic, defensive, and Lighter ideas of this class. As you saw, the Shield Charm she used to try to protect herself from attack was all but useless, and students learn the shield in their second year. A competent Shield Charm should have at least slowed down the attack, which hers did not. I'm not sure if that's a reflection on Blake or your magician, but I wouldn't judge your own magical prowess against hers; you'd only get confused. But if you really want to test your strength against an adult wizard's, I'd be more than happy to assist. In fact, _I'll_ ask _you_ if that's something you'd like to try. As an Auror, it's my duty to find out as much about possible threats that I can, and in exchange, I'll help you with your wand magic. Since the first week or two is going to be spent drilling the idea of dueling rather than learning new spells, you'll have a bit of time to get caught up to speed. We've already agreed to meet, but I thought I should clarify what we should be doing."

"That sounds great," Ryou said quickly. "I'd like to learn as much as I can as soon as I can."

Harry nodded. "Of course," he said, effectively ending the conversation. Ryou and Yami turned away, heading towards the door, and Ryou opened his mouth to speak as Yami gave his body back to his host. Before he could say anything, however, both duelists were interrupted by Al, who had been waiting for them outside the room. Yuugi had almost forgotten that he'd had no idea how to get anywhere and felt pleased that Al had waited for him.

"Do you know where you're going next, or would you like me to show you?" Al offered, speaking to Ryou. He was aware that the Ravenclaw trio with whom the white-haired boy had arrived had already left, leaving Ryou to fend for himself. Ryou nodded in affirmation, though he bit his lip in frustration. He had to come up with something to say to defend his actions, but hardly even knew what he'd done. The malignant spirit rarely came out of the Ring so often, especially if Ryou was doing something as mundane as attending school. The magic in the air had to have him restless.

Yuugi smiled up at Ryou, his face shining with excitement and encouragement. "Aa, onto our next class!"

* * *

Living in an empty house was a very, very strange experience for one Ginevra Potter. She had grown up in a house of nine, counting neither the frequent visits from friends and extended family nor the ghoul that lived up in the attic and made sure that the owners of the house knew it was there. Adjusting to life with only her husband had taken some getting used to. The number of their family had swelled with the births of her three children, but all too soon they had headed off to Hogwarts, one by one, until only Harry was left once more. But now Harry was gone, too, and Ginny was very determined to place the blame on one ex-girlfriend by the name of Cho Chang.

Not that Ginny was whining and moping alone at their white house in Godric's Hollow. While her job as the senior Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet wasn't exactly the most exciting or distracting (working from home, Ginny was learning, was a very bad thing), she had always been a pro at staying strong. Yet Ginny could only take the silence of her house for so long. She had been seriously considering asking for her old job back as a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies—with all her children away at school, there was nothing left for her to look after at home—but forty-one wasn't exactly the age that most Quidditch teams wanted for their players. Ginny knew very well that age wasn't a problem for _her_ in the slightest (A/N Dara Torres!), but there wasn't anything she could do if the _coaches_ had a problem with it.

So Ginny, fed up with the ringing, maddening silence of the house, grabbed her cloak and stormed straight out the front door, slamming it behind her before turning on her heel and disappearing into the air with a pop. She Apparated before a house that was just as familiar to her as her own: one owned by one of her many brothers, a brother and his wife who were the best friends of both Ginny and Harry. Ron and Hermione Weasley were used to unexpected visits by the Potters, as they were as close as family could get, and Ginny had warned them in advance that this year would bring many such visits.

She entered through the front door without knocking. "Ron? Hermione? It's just me," Ginny called as she moved down the main hallway, the hardwood tiles on the floor creaking under her feet.

"We're in here, Ginny…"

Ginny walked into the kitchen, and a tense scene met her eyes. Ron was leaning against the counters looking stressed, and Hermione was rubbing his shoulders. Ginny looked curiously at Hermione, who gave a small smile. "Hi, Ginny," she said warmly, moving to embrace her friend. Ginny gave her a hug in return, then moved to give her brother a kiss on the cheek.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked warily, not sure she wanted to know.

"Um… well…" Hermione glanced nervously at Ron. "Ron got news from work today—"

"Which work?" Ginny interrupted. Ron held two jobs, working part-time as an Auror and part-time as the co-owner of the joke shop Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, created first by their older brothers Fred and George. Ron had jumped in to help when Fred was killed in the Great War, but his main job was still alongside Harry, scouting out the last of Voldemort's supporters. He'd been spending more time at the joke shop, however, as there were less and less Dark wizards every month.

"The office," Hermione responded, meaning the Auror Department. "There was a—a bit of a problem…"

"It's all right, Hermione," Ron interrupted with a sigh, raising his hand. "I should tell her."

Ginny began to feel a slight sensation of panic bubbling in her chest. "Is Harry all right?" she said, her voice oddly calm. Harry had been in many close shaves and near-death situations, but though he always pulled through, Ginny never stopped caring. To her relief, Ron shook his head vigorously, indicating that Ginny was way off the mark.

"Yes, he's quite all right, and hopefully it stays that way," Ron said quickly. "But he may tie into this." He dragged a hand absentmindedly through his mess of ginger hair, apparently trying to decide on where to begin. "There was an attack on Diagon Alley last night."

"_What?_" Ginny exclaimed, astonished. Ron nodded.

"No one was hurt, thankfully—and oddly. Whoever it was broke into Gringotts. The doors were completely smashed, but the odd thing is, it doesn't look as though anything was stolen. In fact, the goblins say that once the darkness that suddenly came upon them was lifted, they were missing three security dragons—but there is absolutely no indication that any dragon left their positions, except, well, they're no longer there."

"So how does this relate to Harry?" Ginny said, sitting down in a chair with a thump. A Gringotts break-in that resulted in no theft of treasure but rather of _dragons_? Dragons that seemed to have simply disappeared into thin air?

"I'm getting to that," Ron continued. "A room in the Leaky Cauldron was completely ransacked, but all anyone in the place can remember of the night is having horrible dreams. Well, we thought it was weird that there would just be one unoccupied room targeted and overturned, so we asked Tom who was last in that room." Somehow, Ginny knew the answer before Ron said it. "…You know those two Japanese students Harry's looking after?"

"Do you have any leads on what it was this attacker wanted?" Ginny demanded. "It has to be something to do with this 'ancient magic' Harry was talking about…"

"Well," Ron said, and his voice cracked. Hermione took his hand and squeezed it lightly. "We _know_ it was about this ancient magic, Ginny."

"How—"

"Harry said it was from Egypt, Ginny. Ancient _Egyptian_ magic."

Ginny was still completely lost. She felt as though there was some huge piece to this puzzle that she was missing, that Ron was dangling right in front of her nose, and it made her frustrated. What did Egypt have to do with Diagon Alley and a room in the Leaky Cauldron? "I still don't understand. Why does this have you looking like someone died?"

"Bill was allowed to keep plenty of objects he found in the tombs in exchange for breaking as many curses as he did. I guess he just kept one object too many."

Ginny froze. "Ron, spit it out," she said sharply, though she knew what was coming couldn't be good. Hermione pulled Ron down into a chair next to Ginny and sat on the other side of him. It was Hermione who spoke next; Ron was silent, staring off into the distance with his eyebrows pulled together ever so slightly.

"Fleur woke to find Bill lying on the floor of their living room, muttering nonsense," Hermione said gently. "From the mantel they were missing a gold circlet and bracelet as well as three rings Bill had given to Fleur on their honeymoon."

Ginny groaned, placing her head in her hands. She had never thought that so many years after he had retired, Bill could possibly still be under any danger from curses he'd broken from his days in Egypt. Fleur had always loved gold and jewelry—and the rarer the better—so it was no surprise that they'd had them in their home, yet Ginny had always counted on Bill not to be so stupid as to give his wife _Egyptian_ jewelry he'd found breaking _curses_, even if he thought it simple enough to be beautiful without being ostentatious. "Is he all right?"

"We don't know," Hermione said quietly. "He's in St. Mungo's, and the Healers say he hasn't made much progress."

"So how do we know what happened to him is related to the break-in at Gringotts and the Leaky Cauldron?"

"There were traces of Dark magic everywhere," Hermione said. "But it was just that—traces. It kept slipping from the Aurors' sensors, and it was so faint. They can't follow the trail anywhere. The Aurors have never experienced anything like this before. It's as though whoever it was just vanished right into—"

Ginny's voice was grim as she finished Hermione's sentence. "Right into the Shadows."

* * *

"Bakura, you've got to talk to them."

"I'm not in the mood."

"You've got to tell them _something_ before they find you completely untrustworthy and you wind up alone…"

Ryou crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at his lunch with a sigh. The Ravenclaw badge on his chest stuck out in a sea of red-and-gold lions, and many Gryffindors at the table were giving him confused looks, but Ryou wasn't paying much attention to them. Yuugi was urging him to talk to the trio of Lorcan, Lysander, and Noah, to whom Ryou had not spoken since the out-of-control first period of the day. Noelle herself had no memory of the monster that had attacked her from behind and so saw no reason to be angry with Ryou, but the Ravenclaws whom Ryou had initially befriended had been surprised to find that the white-haired boy would attack anyone with her back turned, and Ryou did not want to deal with the effects of his yami's meddling ways at that moment.

Yuugi sighed, stabbing his own meal with a fork (he preferred chopsticks, but didn't have much of a choice of utensils). "Bakura," he persisted, "I'm happy to hang out with you, but what are you going to do during the classes we're not together? At night, when we're not sleeping in the same house? You don't have to tell them about your… koe. Voice. But you can tell them the truth without the _whole_ truth."

"Well, it's easy for _you_, Yuugi," Ryou said delicately, raising a pale eyebrow at the shorter boy. "Your situation's not exactly the same as mine."

Yuugi flushed dully, but he was stubborn. "If they truly wanted to be friends, Bakura…"

Bakura began to cut Yuugi off, but he found himself suddenly being shoved sideways on the bench as three new forms dropped down next to him. Bakura turned, meeting with some surprise the grey and black stares of Lysander, Lorcan, and Noah. "Hey, move over wouldya?" Noah said airily. "We're trying to sit."

Lorcan, who was closest to Ryou, clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "It's okay," Lorcan said solemnly in his dreamy voice. "We're schizo, too."

Lysander's lips twitched upwards. Ryou's eyes widened. "Wait!" he protested. "I'm not—but I never—"

"He's right, Lorcan," Lysander said, frowning in disapproval. "Schizophrenia is different from multiple personality disorder."

Ryou spluttered in indignation. "No, that's not what's wrong with me!" he said, but then stopped to see that the expression in all three pairs of Ravenclaw eyes was laughter. Ryou blinked back, unsure as to what was going on.

"Well, then why are you avoiding us like we're the plague?" Noah said lightly, raising an eyebrow. "You can't sit with these dumb old Gryffindors every day. Look, I lose my temper when I'm dueling, and I overreact to things. People get carried away. I'm sure that's what happened to you, and that's what happened to me. I'm an overprotective prick, and you like the occult, so we're even right?"

Ryou sweatdropped. "What does my like of the occult have to do with anything?"

"Tell us what that monster was!" Lorcan urged, his eyes wide and eager. "Did you do that summoning thing you told us about?"

"Don't forget that Yuugi summoned something, too," Al supplied, leaning across the table. "And that one looked as though it could have kicked some Ravenclaw monster butt. You've _got_ to teach me how to play that game, Mutou. Even if I can't do what you did, it would be fun. And it might bring in some more business to the Wheezes if it got popular here, right, James?" He turned to his brother, who was sitting next to him, but James was staring at something further down the table, his chin resting on his hand and a wistful look in his eyes. Suddenly, James jumped as though someone had kicked him under the table.

"What the—Al, what in Merlin's name was that for?"

"You're staring at her again," Al said coolly, and a stricken look crossed the older Potter's face. "At this rate, you'll never get Lule to say yes, and you'll die an old bachelor."

James ignored this statement, turning away to run a hand through his disheveled hair, but stopped when he saw the people sitting across from him. James adopted a very strange expression. "What the hell are four Ravenclaws doing here?"

"We're discussing games," Noah said brightly, "and their awesomeness."

"You mean _Gryffindor's_ awesomeness in Quidditch?" James queried, arching an eyebrow

"What's Quidditch?" Yuugi asked. The word sounded a bit odd on his tongue, though everyone understood what he'd been going for. James looked positively offended that Yuugi didn't know what Quidditch was, and jumped to his feet.

"Only the best game ever," he proclaimed, and instantly Yami jumped to attention. "Do you not even know how to fly?" The look on Yuugi's and Ryou's faces gave James the answer for which he was looking, and the enthusiastic seventh-year ruffled his younger brother's hair. "That's simply a crime. You're learning tonight, before the tryouts and season begin. Right after school, meet me at the Quidditch Pitch. Al and I—and Lily, if you can get her to come—can give you a full run-down. _Everyone_ should know how to fly."

"But—"

The bell rang, cutting off Ryou to signal the end of lunch, giving nobody any choice in the matter.

* * *

More on the Weasleys and Harry next chapter! I don't want to dwell on the learning-to-fly deal, so I may not even write out that scene unless you guys want to see it.

There will probably be only one more update before I leave for school on Wednesday. _Maybe_ two, but that would be very lucky. It's pretty doubtful, as I still haven't done my summer reading yet. (headdesk) Umm, yeah. I should get on that. I'll probably just wind up skimming on the plane back. At least I've already packed! AnnoyingLittleTwit asked what grade I'm in: I'm a junior in high school (why does that sound perfectly fine but knowing I'm going to be seventeen next May sounds way too old?), so this is the big, pressure-filled, SAT, college-search year! It's going to be a wild ride. :)

R&R, you guys! I know you reviewers are out there. ;)


	5. Stirrings

Okay, so I didn't really like the last chapter that much. It was random and fast-moving with no character development whatsoever. Blah. :P I know that every single YGOxHP fic out there is exactly the same as the next, so I'm trying my best to make it different. Hence why I refuse to write about their time in class unless it's relevant to the plot: no repetition!!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm ridiculously busy with school, swimming, and friends; I'm on Christmas break right now, but I don't have a lot of time to write, especially as I have a ridiculous amount of chemistry and history homework to do (yikes). So I'm procrastinating and getting yelled at by my overbearing mother, but I don't mind, because I owe you guys. ;) Thanks so much for your support!

There are a lot of important things in this chapter, so keep note! ;)

* * *

**Chapter Four**

**Stirrings**

**

* * *

  
**

The sun was halfway below the horizon, sinking down slowly as it spread its brilliant rays across the Scotland wilderness. The rays lit up everything they touched, shimmering and bouncing off the surface of the opaque surface of a lake nestled between two gently sloping hills. The colors were an astonishing range of peach, orange, maroon, and most noticeably a deep, rich pink. Through this phenomenon intruded one small brown smudge that swept its feathered wings in a slow beat as though dancing to the silent music of the lights.

Harry Potter stared long and hard out the window of his office, his green eyes narrowed almost to slits as he watched the magnificent barn owl fly off with Harry's letter to his wife. His fingers drummed an incessant rhythm on the cold white sill of the window, restless as the state of his mind. He was confused; nothing added up. Whatever Ginny and his best friends told him, the attack on Bill Weasley could not possibly have anything to do with either the two new students or (strangest of all) Harry himself. From the sounds of things, this thief had been after some pretty trinkets and Bill had stood in his way; besides that, no one had been hurt and nothing had been taken. So why did Ginny think this concerned _him?_

He'd written her back immediately upon hearing the news, asking to meet her that weekend in Hogsmeade. The Aurors' office had contacted him with the same request to discuss Bill's symptoms and the possibilities of tracking down the thief; afterwards, Harry wanted to see his wife and ask her just how the heck she was connecting these things in her mind. Sure, some of the coincidences were strange, but Harry did not think this sounded like a case of nothing more than a thief after exotic items. Bill had Egyptian gold; perhaps this thief had thought the room in Diagon Alley would hold forgotten Japanese treasures the students had left behind. And Diagon Alley would be a surefire place to find valuables; the only question there was what on earth had happened to the dragons.

A sharp rap on the door jerked Harry from his brown study, and he crossed the room with a few long strides and opened the door to reveal his second son, Albus. Harry had always had a soft spot for Al. The only one of Harry's children to inherit Lily Evans' eyes, Harry had given him the names of the two greatest headmasters in Hogwarts history: Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. James Sirius had teased poor Al incessantly about his name, and things had only gotten worse when he began growing jealous of the younger boy. So when Al, hearing stories of the horrible Slytherins from Harry's time at Hogwarts, had been terrified that was the house in which he would land, James had simply fueled the fire as much as he could, leaving Al practically petrified of the very idea of the house. At that point, Harry would have plucked his eyes out had Al been placed in Slytherin, because he knew the Sorting Hat would never put him in a house in which he so did not want to enter.

Despite Al's acceptance into Gryffindor, James had continued to tease his younger brother throughout Al's first year at Hogwarts, and Al had struggled through the first year trying to prove to James that he was equally 'cool,' following along with the older boys' elaborate trouble-making schemes. His second year, Al, so fed up with the energy it took to continue following James' footsteps, turned instead to his books, working hard to join the top students of his class. Al's tactics changed then; he still followed James' trouble-making path, but did it with a much more innocent face, and was therefore able to get away with everything James could not. Al had even managed to join his brother and sister on the Quidditch team as a Chaser. The professors grew fond of Al, and Harry had to admit that he had expected Al's appointment to prefect-hood. Despite his successes, though, Al still harbored an older-brother-complex, and worried constantly about James' opinion of him, leading to many mistakes that he probably would not have otherwise made.

"Hey, Dad," Al said, grinning sheepishly at his father. At sixteen, Al was only two inches shorter than Harry; Harry was sure Al and James both had inherited the Weasley height gene and would be soon enough much taller than he.

"How was the first day?" Harry said, smiling as he invited Al into his office. "More importantly, how did _I_ do?"

"Fine," Al said with a bit of an absentminded note to his voice. "We're going to do more dueling, right? We didn't have a very long class today."

"Of course. I just didn't think it would be a very good idea to continue immediately after tempers had begun running high," Harry said wryly. "Something on your mind, Al?"

Green eyes met anxious green. Al twisted his robes in his hands and blurted, "How's Uncle Bill doing?"

Harry blinked, surprised that Al had heard so soon, and then sighed as he realized it only made sense that Ginny or Ron had contacted him as well with the news. "Ron says that the Healers aren't sure," Harry admitted. "All he's doing is muttering and gasping and screaming about horrible things. They think he's gone crazy, but they simply can't figure out why. It's a mystery, but they're doing their best to solve it." He laced his fingers together and sat down on a chair, resting his elbows on his knees as he observed the younger son calmly. After a moment, Harry decided it was best to change the topic and asked, "What did you do after classes today?"

"I went down to the Quidditch pitch for a bit," Al answered. "Lily and James were teaching Mutou and Bakura how to fly. I didn't stay for long, though; we've already got a fair amount of homework for our first night."

Harry nodded, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "How did Mutou and Bakura do?"

Al rolled his eyes. "Bakura's lucky he got to fly at all. James was being a jerk again. But Bakura did fine once he was in the air, though he looked pretty relieved to be back on the ground afterwards. Mutou was pretty worrisome at first, a total disaster in the air, but right when Lily was flying up to get him, he straightened out and flew flawlessly—pretty impressively, actually. I guess he just had to get his bearings."

"I guess they're starting to get used to things," Harry murmured. "I don't know what to make of them. Especially Bakura—my first impression of him was that he was a little shy and almost excessively polite, but he was surprisingly rude during class today. Still, you can't judge someone by what happens in a duel, when adrenaline is running high… especially since I threw him into something completely unfamiliar."

"Mutou was clueless in Potions," Al said with a grin, "but Lily and Hugo said he was simply impressive in Care of Magical Creatures, as well as Charms for someone who'd never taken it before."

"Good," Harry said with a faint smile. "I was worried Charms would be too high; I thought maybe I should have placed them in third-year Charms along with their other classes, but fifth year was just all that would fit into their schedule, and I didn't want to move them up a level in anything else." He broke off abruptly. "I'm sorry, Al, I didn't intend to sit here and talk with you about other students." He rose to his feet and checked the battered gold watch Molly Weasley had given him on his seventeenth birthday. "Actually, speaking of Mutou and Bakura, they're supposed to be meeting me here any minute now." He gave an apologetic look to his son. "I really am sorry. We'll have to talk another night."

Al shook his head. "No, it's all right," he assured his father. "I'm just glad you'll be around at all this year. I'll talk to you later this week, then?"

"Yes, and bring your brother and sister along, too!" Harry said with a grin. Al smirked and opened the door to the office, falling back in surprise as a fist very nearly missed hitting his face. A guilty yelp met both both Potters' ears.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, so sorry!" came the distinctive confusing sound of speech in an unfamiliar language that the English wizards could nevertheless understand. Yuugi Mutou jerked his hand back quickly from the doorway; evidently he had just raised his hand to knock on the door when Al had opened it. Next to the tricolor-haired boy, Ryou Bakura held a hand over his mouth as though smothering laughter.

Al pressed a hand over his chest, his heard thudding against his ribs as he tried to calm down from the sudden shock. "Don't worry about it," he assured Yuugi, waving a hand. "That just scared the shite out of me."

Yuugi opened his mouth to protest again, blushing in embarrassment, but Al waved him off with a smile and hurried away before Yuugi could say anything. Harry beckoned the two Japanese inside, indicating that they should take a seat. Ryou shut the door behind him, and he and Yuugi did so.

"So how are you adjusting to Hogwarts?" Harry asked, raising one eyebrow in curiosity.

"P-pretty well," Yuugi said, glancing at Ryou. The white-haired boy had had the harder end of things; his yami had been emerging much more frequently than usual over the past couple days. The magic and unfamiliar territory must have him riled up. When he thought about it, Yuugi realized that Ryou's wasn't the only yami who had seemed on edge. Sensing Yuugi's thoughts, the Pharaoh shifted in the back of his mind.

--_It's nothing, aibou. We're just out of our element here.—_

Realizing Harry was looking for a more substantial answer, Ryou answered, "I think there's a bit of a culture shock, but everyone's been very friendly, for the most part." He thought back to the run-in with the three Slytherin students on the train. Their paths had not crossed since the Opening Banquet the first night. "Everything is incredibly interesting—the magic's a bit difficult, though, and everyone's already so much more advanced."

"I do apologize for that," Harry said with a wry smile. "Adjusting your schedules was rather difficult in getting you different-level courses, so some of them had to be bumped up a bit. But since we're on the subject, that is why you'll be meeting with me after classes. A crash-course in magic, one might say. But first—well, I'd like to understand the magic _you're_ used to using, in the hopes of making things easier. Could you tell me a bit about it?"

Ryou and Yuugi exchanged another glance before the shorter duelist spoke, trying to choose his words carefully. Yuugi had never been a good liar, so he stumbled a bit in speaking, but he didn't want Yami to do everything for him. He explained the origin of the Sen'nen Items—leaving out the information about inhabiting spirits—and the creation of Duel Monsters. Harry listened, visibly interested, and only interrupted when Yuugi mentioned Pegasus' name.

"Pegasus J. Crawford?" he repeated, raising his eyebrows. "_That_ was who invented this game? He certainly failed to tell me that… no wonder he knew so much when I contacted him…"

"He used to own the Eye, but disaster often falls upon those who wield the Items," Yuugi said quietly.

"But you've been all right for years," Harry pointed out.

"We have… special circumstances," Ryou muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Harry raised an eyebrow, but let the subject drop—though not before making sure to tuck the conversation in his memory.

"Well," he said, rising to his feet, "will you teach me this game?" Yuugi and Ryou nodded. "Good. Then I hope you brought your wands, because it's time for me to teach _you_ something useful."

* * *

It has been said that Potter men have a weakness for red-haired women. Perhaps it has something to do with boys' liking women like their mothers; but whatever the reason, for three generations such had been true, and it was no different for one James Sirius Potter. At that moment, God must have been experiencing a sense of déjà vu, because seeing a James Potter constantly rejected by a redhead was a very familiar story.

"For the last time, Potter, _no_," Lule Finnigan snapped as loudly as she could without alerting the ever-vigilant librarian to her volume. "I've already told you my conditions. I have my pride, all right?"

James sighed, staring at Lule with pleading hazel eyes. "But maybe if you'd give me a chance…"

Lule flushed a deep red and hesitated before repeating, as though to reassure herself, "I've told you how you can get your chance." She slammed her open textbooks shut, gathered them into a pile, and flounced away, her red ponytail swinging behind her as though taunting him. James stared after her, dejected.

"Bummer." James jumped, jolted from his thoughts, as a rolled-up magazine connected sharply with the back of his head. Turning, he caught sight of his auburn-haired sister and cousin, both standing with their arms crossed.

"I don't understand why she keeps saying no," James said, frustrated. "It's common knowledge she has a crush on me."

"Well, duh," Lily said, swatting the magazine again. James batted it away. "And it's common knowledge that _you_ don't reciprocate. I wouldn't want to date you, either. Women have their pride. Why do you keep asking her, anyway? Ask another, more gullible girl if you're really that desperate."

To Lily's surprise, James blushed a color to rival Lule's hair and turned away. Lily gave Hugo a confused look; the sandy-haired boy shook his head and mouthed, _It's really better if you don't ask._

Lily shrugged. "Fine, be that way. What are you doing here, anyway?"

James looked back at his sister and looked around furtively before lowering his voice. "I'm trying to do research on Japanese magic. There's something off with those new students."

Lily and Hugo met gazes and giggled. "Rose hates them," Hugo said, amused.

James muttered something unintelligible.

"Well, you're looking in the wrong place," Lily informed her brother. "They told Hugo and me that their magic is Egyptian. And it shouldn't have been that hard to figure out, really… Yuugi's got a huge Wdjat Eye on that pyramid thing of his."

James blinked. "_Egyptian?_ How bloody random is _that?_ How did they get Egyptian magic if they're from Japan?"

"Archaeologists in the family," Hugo supplied.

James groaned. "See, I _knew_ there was something up with them. I just spent a whole hour researching Japanese magic… which is possibly the most boring thing ever…"

"Oh, relax, the experience was good for you," Lily said with a grin, patting her brother on the back. "Why are you so concerned, anyway?"

James pretended not to have heard her question, stacking all the books he had strewn around the small wooden table in front of him. "Guess it's time to change direction," he grumbled, leaving the books as he wandered back towards the foreign magic section. It was a not-often visited section, and James had been quickly discovering that it was a place very popular for couples; indeed, as he turned a corner around a row of books, he found a pair exchanging a passionate kiss. James gave a low whistle and grinned. "Don't burn down the library, right…" Ever since the traumatic experience from the beginning of his second year when he'd come across his foster-brother Teddy snogging his cousin Victoire, James had found not much else fazed him.

The girl rolled her annoyed black eyes and instantly gave a rude hand gesture in response. James waved innocently and walked away, hands in his pockets.

"You really have no tact," said a dry voice from right behind the seventeen-year-old wizard. James jumped in surprise, turning to see one of his ginger-haired cousins, Rose.

He grinned and tweaked her nose. "You're just jealous."

Rose rolled her eyes in a manner very similar to the distracted girl two bookshelves down. "As if," she said tartly, batting at his hand. "Since when do _you_ come to the library?"

James shrugged. "You got me curious," he explained. "I mean, who's ever heard of making monsters materialize out of thin air? I think that would be pretty wicked, myself. From what you told me, that Bakura kid, for example, was pretty weak until he summoned his giant hairball."

"Yeah, and Noah Blake got rid of it pretty quickly," Rose scoffed. "That doesn't speak well for Bakura's _hairball_."

"Eh, whatever," James said. "Still, it sounds awesome. I mean, if I could call up some huge-ass dragon or something, how many people would mess with me?" His grin stretched from ear-to-ear. "Admit it. You're here to research the same thing."

"Yes, but not for the same reason as _you,_" Rose hissed. "I don't like it. Something's wrong with them. You didn't see how Bakura had this complete personality turnaround, and his features and voice got sharper. I felt like I was staring at someone possessed. We've got to do something about them, James. I really don't think they mean well."

James held up his hands. "All right, I'll help you crack the code," he assured his cousin. "But I doubt they're evil. I mean, my dad wouldn't have brought them here if—"

"You know your dad's not infallible, nor is he omniscient," Rose said in a low voice. "Evil is clever, James. For how long did Voldemort evade death? Didn't Grindelwald convince Dumbledore everything he was doing was 'for the greater good'? Often the good are blind to evil's true intentions."

"…That was… deep."

"You have no idea."

There was a long pause as Rose and James gazed at each other, unblinking. The silence was broken when James received his second whack to the head that day, this time with something much heavier than a magazine. He winced and dropped, rubbing the back of his head. "_Ouch!_ Lily, what the hell? That _hurt!_"

"Well, you deserved it," Hugo retorted with a smile as he and Lily loaded James' abandoned books back onto the shelves. "Clean up after yourself, and we won't have to hit you."

James groaned. Rose nodded once at him before turning her attention to Hugo. "You didn't have to clean up after James, you know…"

"Yes, but he wasn't going to do it," Hugo pointed out. "It's only polite to the house-elves and easier on the librarians."

"You two are too nice for your own good," Rose said with a sigh, shaking her ginger head.

Lily smiled sweetly. "_Someone_ in the family has to be."

* * *

The first Hogsmeade trip of the year occurred three weeks into the year, and was, as usual, a cause of much excitement for the students as the date drew ever closer. Harry had written instantly to his brothers-in-law Ron and George Weasley, requesting that they start selling game cards at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and assuring the two Japanese students that George would most likely find some way to magically enhance the game; they had just received news that day that George had made a deal with Yuugi's grandfather, who was willing to supply cards, though not duel disks, as the electronics would not work around magic.

Harry had been meeting his wife in The Three Broomsticks every weekend to discuss Bill's condition and how Ron, who had taken over as Head of the Auror Department in Harry's absence, was doing in his hunt for the culprit. Unfortunately, there had been very few leads, and they were no closer to discovering what had happened than when they'd first heard of the attack.

"Why does everything have to happen to Bill?" Ginny had asked sadly the week before, her hands curled tightly around a bottle of butterbeer.

The temperature was beginning to drop for a more autumn-like chill, and Harry wrapped his scarf more tightly around his neck as he followed a mass of students down the hill outside Hogwarts grounds towards Hogsmeade. Harry loved watching student dynamics. There was still a strong sense of House loyalty, but much more intermingling than when he had been there; among a huddle of color, other House colors would flash among the students. He even saw a Hufflepuff girl holding hands with a Slytherin boy, both of whom were smiling happily.

Harry's own children seemed to stick more with their own House and family. Yuugi had made fast friends with the Potters and Weasleys, especially the duo of Hugo and Lily, and Harry could see the three walking happily with Albus. They were followed by James and Rose, who were whispering in hushed tones, and Lule Finnigan and a number of her friends. Ryou, Harry noted, had joined the infamous Ravenclaw trio of Scamander, Scamander, and Blake; although today the four were accompanied by Noah's twin sister, who was laughing happily as Noah attempted to lecture her, her right hand locked securely with that of a brown-haired seventh-year Gryffindor boy.

All in all, Harry thought, pleased, things looked pretty good.

There was a small hiccup, however. Although most of the Slytherins were markedly different from the members of that House from Harry's generation, a few from the old Death Eater families were still known for causing trouble. Indeed, as they arrived on the fringes of the village, Harry saw Cassandra Greengrass knock purposefully into Al, sweeping royally past the group. Lily yelled after her, but found herself looking up into the towering figure of Adonis Nott.

Instantly Harry was on the move, just in time to stop Yuugi's beginning a lecture on manners. "Is something wrong?" he asked mildly.

"Of course not, sir," Nott said, his voice mockingly rude. Greengrass turned around at the disturbance, and a heavy scowl clouded her features at the sight of Harry.

"_Daddy's boy,"_ she hissed at Al, before turning her simpering smile on the oldest Potter. "Nothing's wrong, Professor, we were just—"

"Leaving," Scorpius Malfoy said firmly, his hand descending on Greengrass's shoulder; he sensed the girl was about to go into dramatics, as usual, and wanted to stop it before she got out of hand.

Harry tensed at the sight of the seventeen-year-old blond boy. He was the spitting image of his father, Harry's old rival, who had been the cause of much conflict and unrest in Harry's Hogwarts days. Malfoy's flat grey eyes held Harry's emerald ones for a split second, though to Harry it seemed much longer. He nodded, and Malfoy turned, pulling a now-furious Greengrass and disappointed Nott with him.

"Thanks, Harry," Hugo said, grateful. Harry patted Al on the back and gave all four Gryffindors a reassuring grin.

"No need to start the day out badly." To Al and Lily, Harry added, "Mum is meeting me in The Three Broomsticks—you might want to join us later on. I know your mother would love to see you. Actually, Ron and Hermione will be showing up as well, Hugo. Feel free to drop by for a quick hello. Let James and Rose and maybe your other cousins know as well, will you?"

"Sure thing, Dad," Al said.

"We'll say hi later," Lily promised. "But we want to get Yuugi around to all the sights first!"

Harry winked at the spiky-haired duelist. "Well, have fun, and don't do anything I would do." He checked his watch—the same one he had received on his seventeenth birthday so long ago—and realized he would be late if he waited much longer. Harry gave a quick wave and hurried off towards The Three Broomsticks.

Oddly, the closer he drew to the popular pub, the quieter the streets seemed to get. Indeed, the street on which the pub itself was located was nearly empty but for a few people hurrying by. And Harry didn't blame them; an odd chill ran down his spine, a strange premonition of dread. He broke into a run, sprinting towards the pub and slamming the door open as he burst inside.

Harry was not ready for what he saw then.

It had been years since the incident in the park, but Harry would never forget the purple fog that had given his younger son a traumatic experience at a young age. He was surrounded by it now. As the door to The Three Broomsticks swung shut behind him, the miasma enclosed him on all sides, stretching as far as Harry could see.

Only one thing interrupted the terrifying stretch: three bodies, lying flat side-by-side. Harry hurried forwards, but upon seeing that two had red hair and one was a brunette, he began sprinting. Yet Harry could not get closer than two yards to his wife and best friends; an invisible but very solid wall blocked his path forwards.

"Ginny! Ron! Hermione!" Harry called, panic evident in his voice. He dug frantically in his pocket, pulling out his wand. Harry pointed it at the invisible wall and yelled, "_Reducto!_"

A powerful jet of red light erupted from the end of his wand, but it didn't hit anything; it sped right through the space that had blocked Harry's path forwards as though nothing was there and continued straight until it fizzled out. Harry ran forwards again, to no avail; twice more he tried the Blasting Hex, but neither time it worked. He could not get to his family's bodies.

An amused laugh interrupted Harry's useless attempts. "Your magic won't work on the Shadow Realm," purred a low voice.

Harry turned slowly to face the speaker, who was swathed in plain black robes, his—or her— identity hidden by a red and black mask.

"Hello," the figure said in a pleasant voice, and Harry sensed he was smiling beneath the mask. "Why don't we play a game?"

* * *

Please review! I think this is my favorite chapter so far even though the jumps seem a bit sudden to me. I really hope this isn't moving too quickly! I swear I'll get back to Yuugi's and Bakura's points of view soon enough (I'll have to do so if I want to write much more. This chapter just had to be written this way, so I'm sorry you didn't get to see more of them! But the rest of the plot is _much_ more relevant to the two of them. And I mean _much_ more). Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoyed it! :)


	6. Curses

Yes… it's true—Yan Niao is alive! :P I'm _so_ sorry for the long wait; school, standardised tests, family vacation, one major issue with this chapter, all that good stuff. I'll try my absolute best never to make you guys wait this long for another chapter again. Thankfully, this story finally has a beta, and she has really helped me a _**lot**_. **AirGirl Phantom**, you are super special awesome! :D I really can't thank you enough.

Also, guys, if you have any comments or critiques, please let me know—it really helps in knowing what I need to work on. I would like to say, though, that I'm really honored by the positive reception this story has had! Thank you so much to all my readers! :)

Anyway, hopefully you haven't all forgotten about where I last left you! The drama continues, and the first official story arc begins. :D I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**Cursed**

**

* * *

**

Relaxing with friends was something that Ryou Bakura had not been able to do for a very long time. Since the spirit of the Sen'nen Ring had taken over the white-haired boy's body, nearly pushing the host's soul into oblivion, Ryou had done his best to distance himself from people about whom he cared—and it wasn't as though the thief-spirit gave him much free time to spend idly, anyway. So watching the Blakes and the Scamanders bicker with each other and listening to the teasing that Noah constantly threw his way made Ryou feel tightness in his chest that, oddly, was not unpleasant.

It was with some trepidation, however, that he eyed the dingy pub into which the three other Ravenclaw boys had ordered him. The place was crowded, but not just with other Hogwarts students; some pretty odd characters mingled among the black-robed teenagers, and not all of them kept their faces visible. Though Noah, Lorcan, and Lysander all slid without any hesitation into a booth, Ryou stopped, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"What's the problem, Bakura?" Noah slapped his palm against the wood on the seat next to him and grinned impishly at the white-haired boy; his black eyes danced as he met Ryou's gaze.

Ryou didn't answer immediately, fiddling with the fringes of his shirt sleeves as he searched for the right words. Not finding them, he finally responded, "This place is... weird."

Lorcan raised one eyebrow. "Of course it is. The owner doesn't pay any attention to who's a student and who's not, so sooner or later everyone winds up—"

Lysander held up a hand and smiled sweetly, interrupting his brother. "It's a historical place, Bakura. See, the Hog's Head here was a crucial site during the Great War twenty-five years ago. Through a secret passage that led from here, students were able to leave the besieged castle, and Harry Potter was able to get _in_ to find the weapon he needed to defeat the Dark Lord. Even Potter admits that without this place, he might not have been able to do what he needed to do. So it's shady, as it's always been, but quite a bit more famous."

Ryou blinked, staring at Lysander. That was the longest string of sentences that he had ever heard one of the Scamanders put together at one time, and he wasn't quite sure how to take it. After a moment, Ryou shook himself and slid in to take his seat next to Noah.

"Anyway," Noah said, turning to look at Ryou, "you promised you'd teach us how to play that card game of yours, Bakura. Don't think we've forgotten." He leaned in close to the other boy, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his folded hands. He glanced up from beneath his ridiculously-long lashes, and for a moment Ryou thought idly that Noah could dress in drag and no one would know the difference.

Ryou felt the cool metal of the Ring brush against his skin, and he frowned. "Ah... I'd love to help you out, but I'm really not a very good teacher. Yuugi would be a much better person to ask. I'll do what I can, but I can't promise that will be much..." Despite his words, however, Ryou pulled from his back pocket the deck of cards that travelled with him everywhere, even if he tried to leave them behind.

"I know the very basics," Noah said, shrugging. "Like, the different kinds of cards and all that. I just don't really understand what you _do_ with them, and what all these stats mean and how you apply special abilities."

Ryou studied Noah carefully, brown eyes meeting black. He had grown used to watching people and _knowing_ people that way, and he had done the same with his three friends over the past few weeks at Hogwarts. Noah acted oblivious, and Lysander and Lorcan gave off an air of being completely crazy, but they were in Ravenclaw for a reason. Ryou knew just how brilliant all three really were, and guessed that it would take a very short amount of time for them to master the strategic game of Duel Monsters.

"All right, then," Ryou said, looking at the table as he shuffled his deck. "I should also warn you that I don't have anything like a standard deck, but it does have at least one of every _technical_ type of card. Let's just see what we draw first." He offered the cards out to Noah, who drew the card on the top.

Noah looked at the card, and his eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't read the Japanese writing, but he recognised the picture on the card. "Wait... isn't this the same one you showed me before?"

Noah turned the card around to show Ryou, who blinked at the picture of the blue female horror who clutched her mangled baby doll. "Dark Necrofear—I guess that is the one I showed you before," Ryou said, surprised both that Noah had remembered the card and that he had drawn the same one. Was that by chance, he wondered, or had the card just gotten attached?

Ryou explained the card type and the requirements to summon it, elaborating a little on the basics of other fiend and effect cards. As Ryou had predicted, Noah, Lorcan, and Lysander had little trouble understanding the concept. He held out his deck again. "Here, let's see what we get this time," Ryou offered, smiling.

Just as Lysander's fingers touched the cards, Ryou felt a sharp, searing pain in his chest. He jerked backwards, breath hissing.

The other three boys stared at Ryou. Noah reached out to place a hand on the duelist's shoulder. "Bakura, are you—"

Ryou scrambled to his feet, pushing himself out of the booth as quickly as he could. "I'm so sorry—keep my deck, something came up—"

Noah frowned. "Bakura, what—"

"No! He won't want anyone else to come with me!" With that, Ryou turned on his heel and ran out of the pub, the thick wooden door swinging shut behind him.

Lysander blinked. "Y'know Lorcan... maybe you were right about his being schizophrenic."

* * *

Outside, Ryou managed to hold his composure so as not to arouse suspicion, at least until he found a thin alleyway between the brick buildings of the Hogsmeade stores. He gave one last terrified look around him to make sure he was alone before pulling off his coat and lifting up his shirt.

The cool air hit his unprotected midriff, but Ryou paid little attention to the temperature. Sure enough, the Sen'nen Ring had acted on its own to grab the attention of the host, and the white-haired boy now found gold lodged deep under his skin. What was odd, however, was that there was just _one_ spike; the last time that Ryou had experienced this extreme of an attention-caller, the spirit of the Ring had forced every one of the seven spikes to latch onto the host's chest. So why just one spike this time?

Although Ryou tended to associate the Ring with fear, he also knew that it was a radar of sorts; it led the wearer to whatever he was seeking. Because the Ring spirit's desire was to find all seven Sen'nen Items, when another Item was near, one of the spikes would shine and point in the direction of the Item. Had his dark voice found something? But if so, why was he leaving the host in control of his body?

A wave of sick fury spread through his body, and Ryou leaned against the brick walls, closing his eyes as stars exploded behind his eyes.

Ryou lowered his shirt and pulled on his coat. He didn't have anything with which to stop the bleeding, so he'd have to leave the gold in his skin for the time being. Ryou had completely forgotten that he was in a town full of wizards who could probably deal with the wound for him; the gravity of the situation had made all other circumstances fly out of his head. So it was that Ryou was hardly paying attention as he turned to re-enter the busy main street, just catching himself before he crashed into someone.

"Oh—I'm terribly sorry—" Ryou muttered, bowing quickly before hurrying off once more. He had only taken a few steps, however, before he realised that someone was following him. Ryou stopped, glancing over his shoulder.

The very tall Adonis Nott, accompanied by—as always—Malfoy and Greengrass, smiled a predator's smile at the smaller boy. "Hello, Bakura."

Ryou smiled politely back as another wave wracked his body. Something was going on with the Sen'nen Items, his dark voice was angry, and he was not in the mood to deal with three overly-nosy Slytherins. _Please leave before something happens,_ he pleaded silently as he turned back to walk without saying another word.

Thirty steps later, Ryou looked back again, and the Slytherins were still following him. He gritted his teeth and slipped through a side alley; he didn't know his way around, but he had gotten fairly good at avoiding people as of late. Or at least, he _thought_ he had, for as he weaved his way through the crowds down the next street, he caught a flash of Greengrass' long, strawberry blonde hair. The girl had been unnecessarily interested in him since the first day on the train; Ryou thought with a sigh that he shouldn't be surprised she might be following him now.

_-Ore-sama no yadunoshi!-_

Another sick wave; this time Ryou dry-heaved, grasping for the nearest wall support he could reach. The voice rarely spoke to him, but when it did, Ryou listened. He never spoke without reason.

_-Lose them!-_

Ryou nodded, turning a stare towards the Slytherins before breaking into a flat-out run. He dove for large groups of people, taking side alleys when he could and ignored the odd stares he was receiving. When Ryou had not seen any glimpse of Greengrass or her friends for a while, he came to a gasping halt in a shadowy corner out of anyone's way. There he was overwhelmed by his dark voice's emotions, but this time it wasn't just anger that caught him; there was definitely that, but there was something else. In his head, Ryou heard the low, chilling sound of the Ring spirit's laughter.

* * *

Yuugi's head was swimming. The crisp autumn air nipped at the exposed skin of the swarming Hogwarts students, leaving tender noses and cheeks bright red, but it could not mask the multitude of scents that hovered in the air. The smells, the sounds, the colors that swirled together, one after the other was a pleasant feeling, one of wonder. Lily couldn't help but laugh at Yuugi's expression as she and Hugo towed him from shop to shop and the duelist's eyes gradually expanded to the size of dinner plates.

"You've been here for almost a month now, Yuugi," she teased as he stared at the objects that exploded and zoomed around on their own through Zonko's Joke Shop. "This shouldn't still surprise you."

"But I haven't seen _these_ kinds of things before," Yuugi protested, warily eyeing a small, clockwork device that scuttled sideways on its four legs. Hugo said nothing and clapped Yuugi solemnly on the back.

Lily shook her head, giggling in amusement, and returned the fake wand she had been holding—which was now a rubber chicken—to its bin. She glanced at her watch before turning back to Hugo and Yuugi. "It's getting close to midday," she announced, "and I'm feeling a bit peckish. I vote we go get something to eat."

A huge grin spread across Hugo's face at this suggestion. "Excellent idea, Lily," he approved, already striding towards the door at the front of the store. "Hey, maybe our parents are still at The Three Broomsticks—we should definitely go there and see them! You can come along, Yuugi. I know both my parents are interested in meeting you."

"Me?" Yuugi said, surprised, as Hugo held open the door for him and Lily. "Why do they want to meet me?"

"I don't know if you've heard," Lily said drily, "but your presence _did_ cause a lot of changes this year at Hogwarts, including my dad's temporary job as professor…"

Yuugi gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I think my presence is the cause for a lot of things. Well—maybe not _my _presence specifically, but—" Realizing where he was headed, Yuugi had to remind himself that as nice as these two people were, they were not in on the secret of the Sen'nen Puzzle, and he ought to keep it that way. Quickly he stopped speaking and laughed instead, hoping that Hugo and Lily wouldn't read too much into anything. Luckily for Yuugi, they didn't seem to. A sharp gust of wind tugged at his clothes, whipping his scarf into his face like an added reminder to not let anything slip. With the gust came an odd chill that didn't feel related to the cooler temperatures and prickled under Yuugi's skin, but he brushed it off.

Lily, rather than looking away, instead turned her face into the wind and grinned. Hugo turned and began walking backwards, clearly interested in holding a conversation while reminding others that they still needed to walk towards the food. "That reminds me, Yuugi," he said, thoughtful. "Tell us about your friends back in Japan. Are they all as crazy-haired and weird as you and Bakura are, or is that just an added perk?" Amusement laced his voice at his attempted tease.

Yuugi's face brightened at the question, taking Hugo's question in stride. Yet as he opened his mouth to gush about the friends he so dearly missed, a second sharp wind caught him full in the face; and this time, Yami, who had been sleeping in his soul room, woke up. _–Aibou!-_

His voice was crisp; if Yuugi didn't know his other self better, he might have even said Yami sounded a little panicked. Something had taken Yami completely by shock. Yuugi could no longer deny the awful feeling under his skin, and now he recognized it. It was familiar. Far, far too familiar.

Spirit and host didn't need to exchange another word. Yuugi turned apologetic lilac eyes to his English friends, stumbling over his words in his hurry. "So—sorr—I'm so sorry, I have to run! I'll be back soon!" He ran, Yami urging him on, but Yuugi could not help but think that it was surely a bad thing that he was running in the same direction that Hugo had been heading, anyway… He did not notice that Lily and Hugo were following him, shouting that Yuugi tell them what was going on.

_Here! _Yuugi was bewildered, facing Yami in his mind's eye. _No one could possibly have the—_

-_But remember was Harry told us? Of the event with his children?- _Yami paced back and forth in Yuugi's head. _–And then his wife's brother, and the dragons at the bank… aibou, someone __**can**__ do it, and we don't know why. All we can do now is hope that no one is hurt.-_

As he burst through the doors of a small café, Yuugi reflected that he should have expected the futility of such a hope. The Shadow Realm enveloped him, taking him into its dark embrace. The instant Yuugi felt the touch of slimy tendrils against his soul, they were gone once more as his other self took control of his body. Yami was more comfortable with the Shadows than was his host.

"_Mum!"_

A scream made the two still-standing inhabitants in the room turn to stare at the door—or rather, where the door had once been, for the Shadow Realm had closed off the outside world, keeping Lily and Hugo inside it. Yami, however, turned the other way, his mouth set in a grim line as he prepared to face what had caused the yell. Harry was pale-faced but steely-eyed, his body tense as he drew himself up in a defensive stance. He faced a masked figure, and beyond them laid two unmoving redheads, both of whom bore an uncanny resemblance the two teenagers standing behind the Pharaoh.

Yami swore, loud and angry.

"Lily—Hugo—no!" Harry practically moaned in horror. "You—Yuugi, what in _Merlin's_—"

Yami cut no corners. Getting right to the point, he demanded, "Have you agreed to a game?"

His question met with silence. Harry was taken aback at the normally sweet boy's tone, and his opponent appeared frozen. Impatiently, Yami asked again. "_Have you agreed to a game!"_

Once again, Harry didn't speak, his green eyes traveling helplessly from the bodies of his wife and best friend to the stunned faces of his daughter and nephew. After another short pause, however, the masked figure finally stepped forwards and spoke, voice dripping with poisoned honey. "I'd only just given him the offer, but I'm sure he would have accepted had we not been so rudely interrupted. I was _so_ looking forward to playing a fun game. I do love them, you know. Wouldn't you agree, _yuugiou_?"

Yami's crimson eyes widened in surprise. This one knew who he was. _Yuugiou_—the King of Games.

_-But how does he—?-_

_I don't know, aibou._

Yami did not remove his cutting gaze from the mask that leered through the Shadows. "Do not agree to anything," he ordered Harry, his voice low and level. Deliberately he drew closer the figure, straightening himself up to full height. Yami might be short, but he could still be intimidating; his cool rage rolled off him, nearly palpable in the dark Shadows.

"But he must agree," the mask insisted. "I called him to this realm; I can only send him back when he loses a game and then plays a Penalty Game with me."

Yami could almost see the smile in the tone and only grew angrier. Though he had only known the Potter-Weasley clan for a few weeks, he knew that they could in no way be deserving of any Shadow Penalty—let alone _two_. The incident with Bill was already more than enough. This was taking things too far. "_I_ will give you your game," Yami growled, "and _I_ will receive the Penalty Game should I lose. But I warn you…" His eyes flashed. "…I don't intend to lose."

Mask laughed a high-pitched laugh that almost sounded like that of an amused teenage girl—or a nervous one. "No one ever _intends_ to," he said in a low voice.

Yuugi shivered, his spirit form splitting partially from Yami's physical body so he could place his hand over the Pharaoh's. The former Egyptian king had reached for the deck of cards he always kept nearby, but Yuugi's touch stopped him. _–Mou hitori no boku… I don't think he means a game of Duel Monsters.-_

Yami stared long and hard at the dark figure, his crimson gaze unable to pull any hints as to who this threat might be. He had completely forgotten about Harry, who had moved to stand protectively in front of the children. All three of them were watching, unable to move from a combination of shock, confusion, and the effects of the Shadow Realm.

"Tell me," Yami said slowly, "who… are you?"

Another high laugh. "If you must, call me Eshe." When Yami didn't respond, Eshe strode forwards so that he and Yami were a mere yard apart; arms folded, his stance mimicked the Pharaoh's, straight-backed and defensive. "I don't plan on playing your game today, yuugiou. You'll play _my_ game, my rules, and my judgment."

"I already said I agree," Yami snapped. "So, what is this game of yours?"

Eshe looked down at the ground and frowned. "Well… perhaps the word 'game' isn't the right one to use. I was hoping we could have a formal wizards' duel—a game of magic, if you will." He raised his head again, and Yami now saw that he was twirling a long wand of dark wood between his fingers. "You _are_ a student of magic, aren't you?"

Yami couldn't read Eshe's expression beneath the mask, but he could tell when he was being mocked. He clenched his jaw, breath hissing between his teeth, and grabbed the wand that Yuugi kept secured next to the deck of cards on his belt. He didn't care that it had been Yuugi going to classes and learning spells or that he had zero experience in anything like what Eshe was proposing; his protective nature was boiling over Harry's family member's still bodies and the children that huddled, sweating as they tried to resist the oppressive aura of the Shadow Realm. It wouldn't be long before one of them fainted, Yami thought grimly; and sure enough, right as the thought crossed his mind, Hugo collapsed. Lily let out another gasping scream.

Although he hadn't been the one sitting at the classroom desks, Yami had paid attention when Yuugi was learning. As Yami pointed the wand steadily at Eshe, Harry scrambled to his feet. "No—you can't!" he blurted. "You've only been learning magic for three weeks—you have to let me do this instead—"

Eshe turned his face towards Harry. "He's already agreed, you idiot," he snapped. "Why do you think he was so careful to make sure you hadn't agreed to anything? If he backs down now, the Shadows take him. I'll be happy to deal with you _after_ I defeat him."

Harry drew his daughter closer to him and placed a hand on the unconscious Hugo. "Yuugi—"

Yami didn't even look at the green-eyed wizard. "You have no experience working under these conditions. I'll be fine." He growled, crimson eyes narrowing. "We have delayed this long enough, Eshe. It's time to duel!"

Eshe didn't even speak. He moved hardly before Yami had time to react, firing three spells in rapid succession. Yami dropped, feeling the air riffling his hair as the jets of light passed over him too close for comfort. Yuugi was running through all the spells he had learned, both in class and in his private sessions with Harry, and Yami listened in case Yuugi remembered something that he did not. _Protego,_ the shield spell—_Stupefy_, the stunning spell—_Expelliarmus_, the disarming spell…

As they exhausted the list of spells they knew, it very quickly became clear to Yami that he simply didn't have the arsenal of spells that he needed. He set up a magical shield as he strained to think of something he could use. Eshe was _fast. _Yami winced as a black-colored spell shattered his shield and tore through the sleeve of his left arm, sending an explosion of pain through to his bones. Immediately, before Yami had any time to react, Eshe hit him with two more attacks, forcing Yami to his knees. The pharaoh jumped back to his feet despite the pain and that his left arm could no longer move, knowing he had to keep moving.

_-Mou hitori no boku!- _Yuugi cried. _–Are you all right! Maybe you should let me- -_

_No, aibou, I'm fine! I won't put you unprotected in front of Eshe! _There _had_ to be a way to run this attacker down; even in tests of strength like this, where Yami was clearly outmatched, there was _always _something one could do. This wasn't a duel of wits, but maybe he could make it one.

His right arm snapped out, wand pointing to Eshe. "_Relashio!_" he yelled as he ran, sending a stream of white-hot sparks at his opponent. Yami didn't look to see the result, but smiled in grim satisfaction as he heard a yelp and the smell of singed cloth and flesh reached his nose. He glanced back over at Harry, Lily, and Hugo; Lily had followed her cousin into unconsciousness, but Harry was still fully awake, watching the duel with a helpless expression, clearly wanting to intervene.

Looking had been a mistake. At Yami's lapse in concentration, Eshe hit the pharaoh on his midriff, knocking him over. Instantly, Harry was on his feet, wand out, but Yami spat through gritted teeth, "_Don't do anything!_"

_Don't drop the weapon._ That instinct controlled Yami's body despite the fuzzy pain that was floating through his limbs. He clenched the wand only more tightly, the skin of his hand a bright white. He willed his body to stay still; he had a sense that he wasn't truly injured on the outside, but that everything that he was feeling was the result of magic working under his skin and in his mind. Yami was not physically incapable of moving as quickly as he could when at full health. Now it was all in his head.

And he needed to wait. Eshe was fast and alert, but like everyone, he had his weakness. Yami had noticed it after he'd finally landed a hit on his opponent. In the brief moments just before and after casting a spell, Eshe hesitated—whether he was steeling himself or recovering from the energy spent, he left himself wide open during those few seconds. Yami guessed that if Eshe assumed the Pharaoh was out of commission, that pause would be even longer.

"Is this it?" Eshe sounded vaguely disappointed as he drew nearer to Yami. Vaguely, the spirit noted that as imposing as Eshe could seem, he was only a few inches taller than Yami and Yuugi. "I mean, I know I tilted the scales, but I really expected more from the great King of Games. This can't possibly be all you have." Almost reluctantly, he pointed his wand once more at the still pharaoh. "Well… first unconscious loses, anyway. _Mo—_"

_Now!_

Yami surged upwards, jamming his wand straight against Eshe's chest, and roared, "_Stupefy!"_

Eshe fell with a dull thud.

There was a long pause as no one moved. Suddenly, Yami's body felt lighter. He stood and looked up; the dome of the Shadows was disappearing quickly, and Yuugi's classmates and Harry's wife and friends were all stirring. Harry didn't waste any time, running through the dissipating barrier that had blocked him to his family's bodies and tightly embracing his wife.

"Ginny—Ron—Hermione—are you all right?" he demanded.

The brown-haired witch sat up first, looking around with confusion as she found herself lying on the floor of a dark, quaint restaurant rather than the strange world that she last remembered. "We're fine… just a little weak, I think…"

"What the _hell?_" were the first words out of Ron's mouth.

Harry sank back with relief, and then turned to Yami. "Thank you so much, Yuugi. Merlin's beard, he hit you with so many curses in that short amount of time that I'm shocked you're still standing—though some of them will be gone now that he's unconscious. Here—" Harry's Auror training took over as he worked to rid Yami of as many curses as he could identify. Lily and Hugo, now standing, had run to their parents, who were also clambering to their feet.

"Thank you," Yami murmured, though he watched the Potters and Weasleys for any sign that Eshe had done anything else to them. They all appeared sane, and were now staring openly at him. He ignored the looks and, when Harry sat back to rest, walked to Eshe's unmoving form. He knelt down and reached for the mask, but before Yami could even touch the wizard, Eshe jerked to life and rolled away. Yami's eyes were flat and angry as Eshe faced him; Eshe's breathing was nervous and labored.

"For trespassing on the lives of good, innocent people," Yami said coldly, "I think you deserve to experience the horror you inflicted."He stood, hand spread open and palm facing Eshe. "I stick by your terms, Eshe. You lost the Shadow Game; now try your luck with a _Penalty Game!_"

A low, strangled moan escaped Eshe's lips and his breathing quickened. He dragged himself to his feet and slammed his back against the wall, hands grasping for something that wasn't there. Lily, Hugo, and Hermione watched Eshe with conflicting looks on their faces, but Harry, Ron, and Ginny seemed more interested in Yami, not moving their eyes from his face.

Yami crossed his arms over his chest. "He'll recover in an hour," he said flatly. "Hopefully by then he will have learned his lesson."

"Would you mind explaining what that was?" Ginny demanded. "_Why_ that was?"

"You were in the Shadow Realm," Yami explained, "and it has a severe effect on people, especially those who do not belong in the dark. Only he who brings others to that place may bring you back, unless—as I did—another person defeats him and takes control. I have no idea why Eshe was interested in _you_, but I will certainly do my best to try to discover just what went on here." _And I'll be working on my dueling abilities,_ he thought grimly. Yuugi silently agreed.

"Was this the same as what happened to Bill? And if so, why are we all right and he isn't?" Ron demanded.

Yami looked at Ron and shrugged. "I can't tell you," he said. "I don't know the circumstances behind your brother's attack, but from the sounds of things he must have lost in the Shadow Realm. But if he's still catatonic, then I doubt he was simply put through a Penalty Game, as Eshe and I agreed. It sounds to me as though he lost his soul."

"Lost his—" Ginny choked, her face suddenly drained of any color. Lily gasped, and Ginny reached out to grip her daughter's arm.

Ron's jaw had dropped at Yami's statement. "But I've _seen_ soulless people before, after dementor attacks. They don't act anything like Bill, and you can't just expect—"

"But that doesn't add up," Hermione interrupted; her eyes were slightly glassy as she stared at something that was not there, pulling on a lock of her bushy hair. "Why would this—Eshe?—change the stakes?" Her question was not meant for an answer, and no one offered one.

After a moment of silence, Yami spoke, his voice clear despite his quiet tone as he murmured, "Anyway, I'm very sorry we had to meet this way." Yami's gaze was level as his eyes met each of the four adult wizards', though he relaxed the stiff posture he had been holding. He inclined his head in a brief gesture of respect.

"We're very grateful," Hermione said, returning from her brown study to give Yami a smile. She exchanged a quick glance with her husband before continuing, "I _am_ sorry though. We're feeling a little… under the weather at the moment, and I'm sure you're tired; we'll meet another time under better circumstances, and we can officially introduce ourselves then."

"I'll see you back up at Hogwarts," Harry added with a look at Lily and Hugo. Yami nodded and turned for the door; Eshe was gone, having found his way outside even through the magic-induced haze under which the pharaoh had put him. Lily and Hugo followed after a long stare at each other.

* * *

"Mutou, you've been cursed."

Yuugi blinked and turned at the sound of his name as he entered the Great Hall for supper, famished after the day's events. Flat grey eyes met violet; Lorcan Scamander cocked his head to the side, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Yuugi as though he was an interesting specimen under a microscope. "That's a beautiful curse, too—slow-acting, so you wouldn't feel anything for days," he continued in a very mild voice.

"Noah, take care of that, will you?" Lysander said in the same voice as his brother as he and the dark-haired Noah Blake approached to flank Lorcan. Lysander raised an eyebrow at Noah, who rolled his eyes.

"What am I, your personal cursebreaker?" Noah muttered, but he nevertheless brought his wand out of his pocket and flicked it at Yuugi. For a moment, the spiky-haired duelist felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head, but that feeling quickly passed. Yuugi blinked, thoroughly confused; hadn't Harry already negated any spells that Eshe might have left behind?

"But my father already removed any curses on Yuugi," Lily, who had accompanied Yuugi to the Great Hall, cut in. She narrowed her eyes at Noah, in a foul temper and upset from what she had experienced earlier; she jumped at the opportunity to take it out on someone. "Why would _he_ miss one that _you_ could see and remove?"

"Oh, but it was very difficult to detect," Lorcan said, eyes round and solemn. "Few Aurors would be able to catch that one."

"But—" Lily continued, frustrated. As she tried to fault the twins' claim, Ryou approached Yuugi from behind, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Yuugi," Ryou said in a low voice, "can I talk to you for a minute—alone?"

"Of course, Bakura-kun," Yuugi said, looking at the other boy. Ryou looked uncomfortable, his face a little pained; he had placed his hand over the spot where the Sen'nen Ring rested hidden against his chest. He was already pale, but now he looked positively grey, and a sheen of sweat beaded on his forehead. Yuugi's eyes widened. "Are you all right?"

"Yes—I'm fine," Ryou said, giving Yuugi a quick smile. "Can—we go somewhere quiet?"

Yuugi looked over his shoulder at his and Ryou's friends; Lily and Noah were now in a heated debate, and Lorcan and Lysander watched with too-curious looks on their faces. Grimacing, Yuugi repeated, "Of course."

Yuugi and Ryou wove their way through the chattering crowds of students before their friends realized they had left. Ryou led Yuugi out of the double doors of the Great Hall, turning down the hallway until he found an empty classroom and motioned Yuugi inside. Ryou checked the corners of the room, although when he spoke, it was in Japanese as an added measure.

"You played a Shadow Game today." It wasn't a question; Yuugi nodded. Ryou winced and continued. "That—that _voice_ could tell. He tried to make me go to find you, but he didn't take control. He just used the Ring." Yuugi wasn't quite sure what that meant, but he knew it couldn't be anything pleasant. "I couldn't shake the three Slytherins who were following me, though, and he didn't like that…" His brown eyes were wide, almost panicked. "Yuugi-kun, that voice has been in a bad mood since we've arrived here, but now I've done something, and I swear I didn't mean to, but it's a horrible mistake and now he's _furious_—"

"Bakura-kun, calm down!" Yuugi said quickly, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What do you mean? What mistake?"

Ryou pushed Yuugi away, knocking him back into a stack of desks. Yuugi stumbled as the white-haired boy roared, _"My idiot landlord lost the Sen'nen Eye!"_

_

* * *

_

Bwahaha. Please let me know how you liked (or didn't like) this chapter! :)


	7. Panic

I know. I'm sorry. It's been far too long.

Well, I graduated from high school, and it's finally finished now, anyway. This chapter was really difficult for me to write, and I'm not sure I did it very well. There's a lot of jumping, a lot of things that _had_ to go in but didn't quite fit. I promise the next chapter (and there will be one more quickly than this one came!) will go back to my usual, wonderful organization (HAHAHA), but for now please bear with me.

I owe the completion of this chapter first to AirGirl Phantom, for jump-starting the writing and helping me plan; and then to Rick Riordan, for his lovely _Kane Chronicles_ that gave me both the inspiration and the ideas to help me finish it after nearly a year of neglect…

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**Panic**

**

* * *

**

It stared at him. It watched him no matter what he did or where he sat, tracking his movement with one cold, glaring eye. It was _alive_, in some ways- and he knew only too well that that was a very likely possibility- finding an escape even after he put it away, assuming once more that unblinking glare. Even the light stayed away, skirting from the brilliant golden surface that should have shined bright.

Katsuya Jounouchi _hated_ the Sen'nen Rod, and he hated even more having to keep it in his _house._

He couldn't complain, though. Yuugi had trusted him with the care of such a dangerous item, and Jounouchi would never let down his best friend. Yet though Jounouchi was pleased that Yuugi believed in him enough to simply hand him one of the most dangerous objects in the world and head off to another country, simply being in its presence made the blond a little (though he'd never admit it) scared. He had had bad experiences under the influence of the Rod, and though Jounouchi knew that its previous owner was not in any way as malicious as he had once been, surely, the blond thought, there had to be someone out there with the same ill will.

Jounouchi sat backwards on his chair, legs extended before him and arms folded over the backrest. As he stared at the Rod that mocked him across the room, Jounouchi lowered his chin onto his arms. Yuugi had been gone nearly a month now, and apart from that first owl that had crashed into Jounouchi's window before proceeding to beat him over the head, there had been no trouble in Domino. Jounouchi wondered briefly if all the trouble had followed the shorter boy to Scotland; danger had a habit of clinging to Yuugi, and there had been a surprisingly small amount of it in Japan since Yuugi had left.

"Where are you, buddy?" he murmured under his breath.

Jounouchi was jerked rudely from his thoughts then at the sound of shattering glass echoing from the kitchen. His apartment was small and the walls thin, so it was difficult to miss the sudden outburst.

"_Where's my lazy son? Git to th' damn paper route—git—the damn money!"_

Jounouchi leaped to his feet and threw his books into his schoolbag. He paused for a moment, giving one last lingering glance at the Sen'nen Rod, then shoved it in his bag with his school supplies and raced through the door, passing his hung over father on his way to the exit. "I'm goin', Dad," Jounouchi panted. "Keep your pants on. Don't forget water—see ya—"

He barreled outside, not bothering a glance over his shoulder as he ran to pick up the newspapers for his route. His bag bumped against his hip with every step, thudding dully against the bone as the weight of the Rod reminded the blond not to forget it. It was there.

_—__—__—_

"You brought _what_ to school?"

Jounouchi winced as Anzu Mazaki knocked her chair over as she stood up in shock, eyes wide in accusation. "Look, there's nothing to get so worked up over! Yuugi brought the damn Puzzle to school every day, didn't he? And for wearing a giant block of gold around his neck, he was left remarkably alone—"

"Well, that's because he hangs out with us," Hiroto Honda supplied. Jounouchi made a noise of assent but flicked his friend's forehead anyway for interrupting.

Anzu righted her chair and sat down with a huff, angry patches of pink appearing on her cheeks. "That's not what I'm worried about," she hissed. "The Rod's not the Puzzle, Jounouchi. Yuugi asked you to keep it safe, not parade it around school—"

"I ain't parading anything!" Jounouchi exclaimed, indignant. "It's in the bottom of my bag, Anzu, and a hell of a lot safer than leaving it at home with no one but my _father_ to look after that—you know that. I just—it's been calling out to me lately, like _trying_ to grab my attention, see. I feel as though it's trying to warn me—"

"Hah!" Anzu kept her gaze fixed determinedly on the blackboard ahead, her jaw set firmly. "You know as well as I do that thing is _evil."_

"But only when used by the wrong people," Jounouchi said, his eyes suddenly gleaming as he looked at Honda.

"Yeah, Anzu, what if it wants—"

"No!" Anzu's head whipped sideways to glare at the two scheming boys. "Jounouchi, please—you _can't_—you have to understand. I know you do." Her voice was almost pleading now, and Jounouchi softened at her tone.

"All right," he said with a sigh, "I won't use it. But you can't deny that I can't leave it at home."

"That's true," Anzu said slowly. "I mean, it's been all right there for a while… but it's only a matter of time…" She frowned at Jounouchi's book bag as though trying to tell the Sen'nen Rod how frustrated she was.

Honda's voice was quiet. "Do you think it's a warning—that something's coming?"

None of the three spoke for a long moment, all turning to stare at the messenger bag that hid one of the most powerful items on the planet. It wasn't until the bell rang shrilly to signal the start of class that they snapped out of their solitary stupors. Jounouchi kicked the bag further under his chair, jerking when he found Anzu's hand wrapped tightly around his wrist.

"At least take it to Yuugi's grandpa," she hissed as the teacher walked into the room and began laying out her books on the desk at the front of the room. "If nothing else, he'll be able to think of something."

Jounouchi jerked his wrist free and scowled at the brunette, but he gave her a short nod of agreement. They could trust Sugoroku Mutou. But as much as each of the three friends trusted the old man, the "something" he suggested after the three raced to the Kame Game Shop after the last bell of school for the day rang had Jounouchi wondering if the old man was finally going senile.

"No matter how much you beg, I am not handing this over to that ass, and no matter how much _we_ beg, he'd never take it, anyway."

Sugoroku was not deterred, and he folded his hands calmly on the countertop. "The Rod belongs to him, Jounouchi. Magical objects always respond to their true masters. And he has the resources to—"

"I am not trusting an item of this much power to Seto fucking Kaiba!" Jounouchi snapped, which caused Honda to hit him on the shoulder in reprimand for his tone. "Yuugi trusted _me_ to take care of it, and I—"

"And yet you came to ask me for advice," Sugoroku reminded him mildly, "because you no longer feel that it's safe for only you to watch."

Jounouchi spluttered with helpless indignation until Anzu saved him. "In all fairness, Mutou-san," she said, "Jounouchi does have a point. Kaiba may understand the value of the Sen'nen Rod, but that may be just why he won't want to take it. But I do think…" She glanced nervously at her still-indignant blond friend. "I do think that we'll never know for sure until we ask. If anyone has the power and the resources to protect a Sen'nen Item, Kaiba would be one such person."

Sugoroku hid a smile as Jounouchi attempted to fudge his way out of the situation, but finally he ran out of excuses and quieted, fuming.

_—__—__—_

"No."

Seto Kaiba calmly shuffled a stack of papers on the desk in front of him before looking up at the band before him, raising his eyebrows. The teenaged CEO leaned back in his chair, placing the papers in front of him, straightening them without taking his eyes off his former classmates. "I simply have no desire to be involved in this again," he said. "It would be an expense of my resources, a waste of my time, and could possibly drag me into another of your nonsense messes with which I do not have time to deal. I'm busy. Leave me alone."

"Told you," Jounouchi muttered, and Anzu elbowed him.

"Kaiba-kun, we wouldn't ask if we didn't think it was serious," the girl pleaded. "We don't know what Yuugi is doing right now, and it's a highly dangerous item—you've seen what it can do."

"Well, you have a tendency to blow _everything_ out of proportion," he said coolly, "and the properties of that thing are precisely the reason I would rather stay away."

"It belongs to you," Anzu said quietly.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "I am not some priest in a desert," he snapped. "Now get out of my office, and take the Rod with you. I don't want to see you back here unless you're here for a _proper_ business deal with my company, which, judging by the brains the mutt in particular tends to exhibit, will never happen. _Now."_

Though smug in his victory at being proven correct in his predictions for Kaiba's actions, Jounouchi still gave the other an extremely rude hand gesture before stalking towards the door. Honda followed, hesitant, but Anzu stayed to give Kaiba a shrill-voiced lecture. "You should have learned your lesson by now, Kaiba-kun!" she demanded. "You know better! This is just—just—"

The brunet raised his eyebrows, his displeasure growing every second. Honda grabbed Anzu by the elbow and dragged her after him, slamming the office door as the trio exited.

"I don't believe him!" Anzu burst out angrily as they walked down the halls of the Kaiba Corporation building. "He's been with us! He's worked with Yuugi, he knows this is no joke, and yet he still—"

"Anzu, you were blind to think he'd immediately acquiesce to our requests," Honda said dryly. "He's a realist, a pragmatist, and is obsessed with his company and his success. Teamwork rarely means little to him if he can't gain something tangible."

Anzu scowled as she punched the button to open the elevator at the end of the hall. "Yuugi's helped him more than he deserves," she said, her voice high. "And if he'd just _see_ how much he can accomplish when he…"

Honda and Jounouchi exchanged exasperated glances over the top of the girl's head as she continued abusing the CEO as the elevator doors slid shut and they began to descend. Silently they exchanged bets on how long her chatter would last, a tiny grin threatening to spread over Jounouchi's lips despite his (less-than-genuine) effort to keep a straight face and nod along with whatever the girl was saying.

They were halfway between the tenth and ninth floors when something happened that caused even Anzu to forget her frustrated tirade.

"…so _talented _but so _stubborn,"_ she was saying, "and one of these days it's going to be to his detri—"

BOOM.

The entire building shook, throwing the three friends into each other, smacking them harshly against the wall. Honda groaned as Jounouchi tried to struggle to his feet before another crash rocked the building.

"Wh-what's going on?" Anzu gasped, her face pale as she clutched her head.

"No idea," Jounouchi said, his brown eyes flicking from side to side. This time he was ready when the elevator shook again, throwing out his arms to protect Anzu from smacking into the elevator walls once more. The elevator had definitely stopped its descent; they were in limbo, stuck, at the mercy of the mysterious booming.

"We've got to get out of here!" Honda actually squealed as the wall behind him cracked. Jounouchi snarled, his face determined.

"Let me stand on your shoulders," he urged his partner-in-crime, "and I'll get us out through the ceiling. We'll climb up—I'll get us out. But we can't stay here."

Honda nodded, bending his knees so that Jounouchi could clamber onto his shoulders. They were both tall enough that when Honda straightened, Jounouchi could not fully uncurl his body. He pushed through the trapdoor in the ceiling, wincing as Honda stumbled with another shake of the building, but both managed to regain their balance. "I'm going to climb through," he said, gritting his teeth. "This isn't going to be stable—let Anzu up, then I'll help you."

Honda nodded, doing his best to brace himself against the rocking. Jounouchi pulled himself out onto the roof of the elevator, grabbing onto the supporting cables as he shifted to his knees and held a hand down to his friends. Anzu scowled and brushed a hand over her skirt. "Head down," she said sternly to Honda as he knelt so she could climb onto his back. Honda straightened, and Jounouchi took hold of her forearm and pulled her up onto her stomach.

"Anzu, anchor yourself to the cables," he said grimly, "and hold onto my ankles. We've got to get Honda out of there."

Anzu nodded, looping an arm through one of the wire cables before latching onto the blond's ankles. Jounouchi lay on his stomach and gripped arms with Honda, whom he pulled up until the other could grab onto the lip of the opening in the ceiling. Jounouchi shifted his grip then to under Honda's armpits: as the brunet used what upper body strength he could to pull out without any leverage under his feet, the blond assisted until all three lay on the top of the elevator car, grasping desperately at the metal cables so they were not thrown off into the shaft.

"….All right," Jounouchi said, jumping to his feet once he was sure Honda had regained footing. On top of the car, they were level with the doors on the tenth floor. Anzu looked dubiously at the metal doors.

"Um… how are we going to get out of here, exactly?"

"Luck," Jounouchi said with a cheeky grin, and he began kicking the doors as hard as he could. Indeed, luck seemed to be always on the side of the blond duelist: it wasn't long before someone must have heard the pounding on the doors, because before too long there was a _ding_ and they slid open to reveal one of Kaiba's sleek-suited employees, a harried look on his face.

"Thanks, man," Jounouchi said, giving a two-fingered salute as the trio leaped out of solid ground. "I wouldn't recommend the elevators, though, they're a little unsafe, y'know." They ran past the now-confused-looking man and bolted towards the staircase and down the nine flights of stairs, through the now-packed and panicking lobby, and exploding out the doors.

Anzu's eyes grew nearly as wide as her head. "…Wh-what in the world—_is_ that?"

A woman about the size of the Kaiba Corporation building stood just outside the main entrance, cowled in long white robes. It was difficult to see her face from their angle, but Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda were able to see clearly that she was barefoot, and her skin appeared to be nearly black, as every inch of her was crawling with—

"_Scorpions!" _Anzu shrieked, throwing herself into Honda's arms and lifting her feet off the ground. She looked as though she was about to be sick, and even the two boys were grimacing.

"That's disgusting."

Suddenly Jounouchi bolted, skirting the giant woman's scorpion-infested legs, breaking for free ground. He tilted his head back, trying to get a better glance at what was going on at the top of the building, but what he saw—though it explained why the skyscraper office building was shaking so violently—did not in any way answer questions. On the other side of the building, a bare-chested man just as tall was facing the robed scorpion woman, but his head was not that of a human; rather, his shoulders were topped by a giant, blue-feathered falcon head. The two were grappling, fighting over the spire of the building, and between them—a fly, compared to their giant sizes—was unmistakably Kaiba's helicopter, diving and darting as it tried to drive them away.

Something shimmered at the top of the building, and the unmistakable shriek of Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon sounded as far down as the street as three of the dragons appeared at the spire before merging together. Jounouchi didn't know what that would do: though impressive to be sure, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon was still only a hologram, and he didn't think holograms would have much of an effect on the giants.

"_Gah!" _ Jounouchi yelped as he realized that many of the scorpions that had been swirling around the woman's feet were now spreading out in waves on the street, a huge number heading right for him. Frantic, he looked around, but there seemed to be nowhere for him to go, and they were approaching at a faster rate that he knew he could run. Still, Jounouchi tried to backpedal, though he succeeded only in tripping over his own feet and falling hard to the ground. A very un-manly squeal left his throat as he was immediately swamped in the crawling arachnids.

"You—you—things!" He grabbed at the bag at his hip that contained the Millennium Rod, trying to brush the scorpions away from it. "Stay off me, willya—don't go near the goddamn—"

Suddenly every one of the scorpions on him froze for a moment, then scurried away. Jounouchi's jaw dropped as he gaped, incredibly confused, until the giant woman slowly turned and looked down at him.

"…Oh, hell."

Scorpions seemed to explode all over her mammoth body, covering every inch of her robes as they seemed to eat her, shrinking her, until a human-sized pile of arachnids melted away to reveal the woman, now of human size, stalking slowly towards Jounouchi. Her black hair was braided and beaded, her eyes pupil-less and without whites, and her mouth, when she opened it, was pincers that slid sideways and made a terrible clicking noise. Jounouchi felt his voice jump an octave as he stuttered, unable to move as she approached. When she was only a meter away, he did the only thing he could think of and grabbed for the only weapon he had at hand: the Sen'nen Rod.

"Stay away!" he shouted as he drew it from his bag, intending to strike her with it. Instead a rush of power surged through his arm, nearly making him dizzy, and the golden item glowed so brightly that she howled and retreated. Jounouchi was so shocked that he nearly dropped it, but he managed to keep watching as she backed away from him, power and control continuing to rush so awesomely through his body.

Suddenly he understood how Malik Ishtar might have gone crazy from the power.

The terrible face warped until the woman's was like a normal human's; the only hint of her previously-arachnid face was that her hair was now topped by a lapis lazuli crown, nestled on top of which was one golden scorpion. She was almost beautiful now. Jounouchi lowered the Rod to get a better look, but the instant he did, her body once more erupted all over with crawling creatures, though this time she sank into the earth and vanished.

Jounouchi sat down, hard. He was pale, breathing heavily and shaking as he clutched the golden ax to his chest. Looking up, he saw that the falcon-man had disappeared, too, and Kaiba's helicopter appeared to have made its descent. He did not see Anzu and Honda, who were running towards him, until they nearly crashed into him.

"What _was_ that?" Anzu gasped out, her face lacking any color. Jounouchi shook his head.

"I think," he said weakly, "we need to get hold of Yuugi."

* * *

At that moment Yuugi—or the spirit residing in his body—was grappling furiously with the furious spirit of the Millennium Ring. Yami pushed Bakura, angry that he had nearly injured his host, shoving the white-haired thief away from him. _"BAKURA!" _he roared, his crimson eyes flashing. "Don't you _dare _take your anger out on my partner, do you understand?"

"Oh, _your_ host isn't the one who needs to worry, _Pharaoh,"_ Bakura spat, catching himself before he hit the wall towards which Yami had pushed him. "_Ore-sama no yadunoshi _had been feeling my wrath, and it will be a _long_ time before I—"

He found himself gripped by the neck of robes, a snarling Pharaoh in his face. Usually the thief would have simply laughed him off; this time, however, he was too angry to do anything but dig his nails into the hand that twisted in his shirt. "You leave Bakura-kun alone," Yami said in a dangerously low voice. "I understand the implications of losing any Sen'nen Eye, but if you hurt him, I swear—"

"Get your self-righteous, puffed-up head out of your ass," Bakura hissed. "You think I want this body maimed? I have to live in it, too. He's lucky, really, that he has me here to watch over him. No, I care for a far different reason than you do, Pharaoh, but that eye is _mine_ and it is not to be lost."

Yami let go of the other's shirt, taking a step back, though his gaze didn't leave the other's face. "Doesn't your own Item lead you to that which you want to find?" he snapped. "Can you not track it down?"

"You think I haven't _tried?"_ Bakura yanked the Ring from underneath his shirt. It was glowing, the center spike pointing, but it shook violently and never stayed in one place long enough to follow. "Something is interfering with the magic."

Yami had nothing to say to that; he simply stared. Distantly he remembered being told their Duel Discs would not work at Hogwarts due to the high level of uncontrolled magical activity. Could the magic that drove the Sen'nen Items be interrupted by that same wand-channeled magic? Yet his link with Yuugi and his own source of power in the Puzzle seemed to be unbroken or uninhibited…

Abruptly he turned on his heel and stalked from the room.

"_Hey!"_ Bakura shouted after him, anger rising once more in his voice. "The Eye is _mine,_ Pharaoh, do you understand? Keep your holier-than-thou hands away from my belongings. If you so much as _think_ about taking it, I—"

"_Shut up!"_ Yami whirled, glaring more fiercely at the thief than he could remember glaring in a long time. "This is not about the Eye alone, Bakura, do you understand? That it's missing is cause for worry enough. That it's not only missing but people here are being attacked by its sort of magic is even worse. And all this is happening in a place with power _we_ don't understand or know how to wield. We need help, and we need to trust those who _do_ understand."

A pause.

"You're not going to talk to Potter."

Yami didn't answer.

"_Pharaoh."_ Bakura's voice was low, deadly, and quiet. "Even you—if you expose our secrets here—"

"_We have no choice._ We have to tell him. We need his help, he has to understand what's happening. His family's being affected by this, and he can help us. It's the right thing to do."

"_Right,_ maybe, but not smart. And I like to wager my chances on _smart."_

"Let your host come back, Bakura."

"Are you telling me what to do?"

"_Let your host come back! _This is not your decision!"

"This has EVERYTHING to do with me and my decisions!" Bakura suddenly moved, catching up with Yami to slam _him_ against a hallway wall this time. "You do not tell me how to live! You do not control me! You are not my king! That Eye belongs to me, and this _power_ belongs to me, and that man _will not know of this_ until _I _say so!"

"We do not have to tell him about you." Yami's tone was almost a sneer. "We do not have to tell him of your role in this, or even about the Eye. But people are in _danger._ He has the right to know more about these items. He nearly lost a son to their power once—"

"So he says—"

"And now he's lost a brother," Yami continued as though he hadn't heard the interruption, though his voice rose in volume. "He nearly lost more, including his own. Someone is targeting him. The Eye must be found, and who better to search than a man whose very _occupation_ is to track and hunt down objects like it? He knows how to work this world, Bakura. See sense."

"The Eye is _mine,"_ the tomb robber snarled.

"And we will find it," Yami responded. "You are a fool to think I do not understand the importance of locating it."

There was a very long silence during which the two spirits glared at each other in the dark hall of the castle. The silence was broken only by a thud and a gasp that made the two jerk and Yami turn pale. "Someone's listening."

Bakura was ahead of him, pulling a knife he'd hidden up his sleeve and licking the blade as he crept in the direction of the noise. Yami, however, was more direct: he merely pushed past the thief and ran, stumbling to a halt when he nearly tripped over the very lonely-looking, very familiar black cat that appeared at his feet.

Yami stared down at it. There was something very, _very_ strange about this cat, and it gave him chills. Its amber eyes were too piercing; they made even the confident Pharaoh feel on edge. Bakura ignored it. He stared down the length of the arched hallways, his eyes narrowed nearly to slits. Cat or no cat, there had been a person in the hall, listening to his conversation with Yami, and he was going to find out who it was.

Finally—as Yami stared down the cat—Bakura tore his eyes away from the hall he'd been inspecting. He glared briefly at Yami before melting slowly back into his host with a low hiss of "Don't think I'm not watching, Pharaoh."

It was Yuugi who caught Ryou when he stumbled forwards, shocked with the suddenness of regaining his own body. Both hikari were slightly shaken—Yuugi from witnessing the exchange that had just occurred, Ryou from the mental pressure under which he'd been for the past day. Glancing at his feet, Yuugi noticed the cat had vanished. He shook his head vigorously; he couldn't worry about vanishing cats at the moment.

"Potter," Yuugi choked, his lilac eyes wide. "We need to see Potter-sensei. It'll be okay, Bakura-kun. Mou hitori no boku will take care of things, and… and Potter-sensei can help. Maybe you just misplaced it in your dormitory, or with your things. It will turn up. Everything will be all right…"

Ryou nodded, but he didn't think Yuugi was right. The boys took solace in gripping each other to remain steady for a moment, then—still supporting each other—hurried as quickly as they could to Harry's office.

They were able to hear raised voices almost as soon as they entered the hallway in which the office was located. Yuugi and Ryou looked at each other, wordlessly agreeing with each other, then as quietly as they could crept along the wall until they could hear more clearly. At a good angle, they were even able to peer through a crack in the doorway to see what was happening inside.

Harry sat at his desk, pressing his fingers into his eyes until he saw stars, an attempt to drive off the headache that was quickly coming on as his son and niece stared him down. "I will not have this conversation," he was saying, his voice weary. "The topic is closed, and you will _leave it."_

"Dad, you're _blind_ not to see it," James insisted, his voice urgent. "These people are _not normal._ They're not good for us. They show up here, and suddenly our family is getting attacked left and right! Bill's in St. Mungo's, Ron's suddenly working overtime, he and Hermione and Mum nearly suffered Bill's fate, but rather than finding it _suspicious_ that this is all happening and Yuugi's the only one who seems to know how to beat it, oh no, they're given _blind trust!"_

"The Imperial School of Magic wouldn't take them." Rose continued the argument. "They're clearly not supposed to be a part of this world, their own country wouldn't trust them."

"I said, that's enough!"

Both teenagers quieted quickly, their eyes wide at Harry's sudden outburst.

"Yuugi just _saved our family's lives,"_ Harry said slowly and sharply, "at risk of his own. And don't you dare say it was a setup—if he _had_ something against us, he had us right at his hands, and chose to save us instead. We all have secrets, James and Rose, and I will not force them to reveal theirs, but you will trust them—and me—until they show us any reason otherwise. Do you understand? I once mistrusted a man who gave off all the appearance of being evil, and trusted the one who gave off all the appearance of good, and it turned out to be a grave mistake. Son, I deal with untrustworthy characters and suspicion at my job _every day._ I know how to keep an eye out, and I know how to overlook lies. I will hear nothing more on this until you know more than I."

It was an indirect dismissal. Fuming at the brush-off, Rose turned on her heel and flounced towards the door, and James hurried after her. Yuugi and Ryou nearly tripped over their feet as they backpedaled, hurrying to get out of the way and look as though they were only just rounding the corner by the time Rose slammed open the office door.

She barely spared the duo a glance as she turned in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower, though her glance when she gave it was one of deep dislike and mistrust. Yuugi stared after her, his eyes wide and upset, but Yami pulled him away with a mental hand on his shoulder. _"Don't let her get to you, aibou," _he said calmly. _"You can't win over everyone immediately, but being you, you'll get her soon enough."_

Yuugi closed his eyes and nodded once before stepping up behind Ryou, who was already knocking on Harry's door.

"Come in." The Boy Who Lived sounded exhausted and strained, and Yuugi couldn't blame him. The Shadow Realm was designed to take the energy of every good-hearted person; he knew from experience its power was difficult to withstand, especially when one was unaccustomed to the place and loved ones were in danger.

"Professor," Ryou greeted quietly as the two boys entered, and Harry did his best to smile in greeting.

"Yuugi, Bakura. I was going to talk to you tomorrow, but I guess you anticipated me."

Yuugi glanced nervously at Ryou. "Well, we—had a thought," he said slowly. "We may need your help with something."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he said. "I guess we can help each other, then. I've received more disturbing news, and I highly doubt you will like it."


End file.
